After an MVP runner-up season in 2025, Drake Maye has struggled to start his 2026 season. Through two games, Maye ranks 25th in passing yards (386) and has a 1-to-4 TD-INT ratio.
Maye’s sluggish performance has received scrutiny from sports talk radio as questions arise about whether Maye can take this Patriots team over the top or whether he is a game manager. Within the walls at One Patriot Place, however, the organization sees a young quarterback who is going through expected learning curves to get to the next level of NFL stardom.
According to his quarterback coach, Ashton Grant, Maye has the right mindset and aims for perfection.
“He’s someone that wants to chase perfection, and I think that is good, and I like to try to feed into that a little bit. Because there’s always a little bit more meat on the bone,” said Grant.
“We’re constantly chasing the best version of ourselves, and I’m glad he’s someone who likes to do that.”
Where the Meat on the Bone Remains
Maye is still growing when it comes to seeing Cover 6 defense looks.
Long story short, in a Cover 6 defense, the defense is split in half, where one side of the field has a safety dropping back to take away the deep ball and another defensive back more towards the line of scrimmage. On the other half of the field, two defensive backs split that deep side of the field in half.
Maye and younger quarterbacks can struggle with this because pre-snap, both safeties are deep, but as soon as the ball is snapped the rules change on each side of the field. As a quarterback who wants to throw the deep ball, Maye is forced to hold the ball longer or force the ball into space that he thinks is there but is actually occupied by the opposing team’s secondary.
Maye’s next level of growth will come from taking what Cover 6 defense gives him, the underneath short to intermediate throws.
The Long Game for QB1
For Drake Maye, Year 3 represents the inevitable phase where defenses throw custom looks to test his patience. While the outside noise will continue to dissect every turnover and stalled drive, inside the meeting rooms at Gillette Stadium, the coaching staff sees a young quarterback with a relentless desire to be great.
It is Maye’s mindset that will fuel his development. He’s looking for every last scrap of “meat on the bone.” If history is any indicator, it is only a matter of time before Maye puts his underwhelming streak of games behind him and evolves.
