The Patriots offense is three unpadded practices into a training camp with an entirely new coaching staff, scheme, and an overhauled quarterback room against a stingy defense.
Based on some prognosticators, New England's defense is projected to be among the best in the NFL this season. The Pats have very few personnel changes on that side of the ball, a defensive-minded head coach and coordinator who is entering his eighth season with the club. Although losing the greatest defensive mind in NFL history is a big blow, it's not surprising that the Patriots defenes is ahead of the offense.
"Historically, the defense has always been ahead of the offense," head coach Jerod Mayo told reporters before Friday's practice. "The offense, they're still gelling together, and we have a lot of guys on defense that already know the scheme. It's harder to jump to conclusions."
The Patriots first-year head coach has a point. You cannot compare the familiarity with the personnel and scheme on defense to New England's offense, and making any definitive proclamations about results at this point is being a tad unfair to quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett, Drake Maye, and their teammates on the offensive side of the ball.
With that said, the job is to be objective while analyzing the offense's performance through three days of camp. To that end, it's been a bumpy ride. At times, it's been downright ugly, especially along the offensive line, where there has been significant shuffling each day.
The Patriots coaching staff is on a quest to find their "best five" up front. As a result, we've seen different tackle combinations day-to-day. For example, the Patriots opened camp with expected starter Chuks Okorafor (LT) and Calvin Anderson (RT) among the opening group. Then, the next day, it was Okorafor and Lowe, followed by a curveball when rookie Caedan Wallace took reps at left tackle with Okorafor at right tackle.
The Pats are throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks before we get into the meat of the summer, with padded practices expected to begin on Monday. Competition is good, but eventually, you have to settle on a five-man unit and roll with it to build continuity. Then, we can fully evaluate where things stand as the physicality ramps up.
From this perspective, the offensive line is currently struggling the most with blocking the bootleg concepts offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt wants to feature heavily. By my count, the defense pressured Brissett and Maye six times on bootleg designs out of 19 total drop-backs. The defense may not be biting hard on these moving pockets because the run threat isn't as significant in non-padded practices, but the quarterbacks are facing immediate pressure.
On one bootleg design, Brissett had to widen his path further into the sideline than anticipated due to pressure by second-year edge rusher Keion White. These concepts are designed to leave the boot-side unblocked, with the hopes that the hard run-action will suck the free defender into the line of scrimmage to create a clear path for the quarterback. However, with White in his face, Brissett threw late to JuJu Smith-Schuster on a crossing pattern, and linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley jumped the route for a near interception.
Everything the head coach said about the time of year, the personnel and scheme continuity on defense, and to add in my words, not Mayo's, the offense is down top receivers Pop Douglas (limited with minor injury) and Kendrick Bourne (PUP/torn ACL recovery) is factual. Again, it makes sense that the defense is ahead of the offense in the early stages.
Still, it's worrisome that the issues the Patriots are having offensively, mainly blocking and receivers creating downfield separation, were concerns heading into camp. If these things continue to be problems, then it's ultimately a reflection of the talent on the roster.
After hearing from them following practice, here are more details on the opening week for the four quarterbacks currently on the Patriots roster:
1. Drake Maye Speaks on Progress and Bouncing Back After First Camp Interception
It's important to remember that development isn't always linear when it comes to rookies. Maye will hit bumps in the road, with a blemish on Friday being his first test in adversity.
In his second run of 11-on-11s, the play was designed for Maye to take a shot downfield, but the third-overall pick didn't like the vertical route. Rather than throwing deep, Maye checked it down running back Rhamondre Stevenson in that flat. The only issue was that, in the pros, defenses cover the check-downs, unlike in college, where that's often free yards for the offense.
Maye's throw in the left flat intended for Stevenson instead went directly to edge rusher Matthew Judon, who had dropped into coverage off the line of scrimmage. Judon then ran down the right sideline for a practice pick-six, sparking a huge learning moment for the Pats first-year QB.
"You can't ride the ups and downs. Just can't be too hard on myself. Sometimes I'm too hard on myself. You gotta bounce back. It's how you bounce back," Maye said. "In this league, they're covering the running backs, so you have to make sure you look out there before you throw it."
Overall, there was some hesitancy to Maye's reps in Friday's session, with him double-pumping on a few occasions as he made his way through his progressions. There's also a fine line he'll need to walk with the off-platform stuff that he specialized in at North Carolina. For example, another rep saw Maye stop his throwing motion mid-pass to avoid throwing into a murky window over the middle. He then reloaded to throw off-platform to WR JaQuae Jackson, who couldn't corral the pass.
On the one hand, it was a good decision to abort the throw over the middle and an impressive feat to throw a catchable pass out to the sideline. Still, those plays can lead to trouble. You don't want to take the playmaker out of the gunslinger, but it's a balancing act. The same goes for how often Maye takes off running on scrambles, which he has sometimes done in drills. Maye accumulated 961 rushing yards on scrambles over his last two seasons in Chapel Hill, so that's in his bag. But you have to manage the body blows with your young franchise QB.
These are early coachable moments for Maye in his first training camp. Let's keep that in perspective, please. It's good that he's making these mistakes now while being tested against a great defense, and he bounced back nicely from the pick to finish practice strong.
Maye completed five of his last six passes, including a completion on an in-cut to Jalen Reagor immediately following the interception and a Sunday-style throw on an angle route over the middle to RB JaMycal Hasty. Before the pick, there was a plus-rep in 7-on-7 where Maye made it through a full-field progression. Later, he connected with second-rounder Ja'Lynn Polk for a 40-yard-plus bomb, dropping it between CB Azizi Hearn and safety Jaylinn Hawkins for the day's highlight.
"He made a nice catch. It really wasn't a great throw, but Polk made a nice catch. Great player. Looked off the safety a little bit. He made a nice play. Just give him a chance. It's what he's here for, and I'm looking forward to seeing more JP," Maye said in his breakdown of the play.
The results for Maye in the early stages haven't always been there, but the arm talent is apparent. It was also very encouraging to see him bounce back from the interception without allowing the rookie mistake to snowball on him. That wasn't always a given with the last QB.
If he can avoid being an error repeater as the conditions around him improve, Maye is progressing nicely in his development.
2. Brissett Remains the 'Starter' at Quarterback While Working Alongside Rookies
Along with practicing as the starter, Brissett has been Maye's biggest cheerleader in these practices, with several examples of him showing support for the future QB1.
On Friday, Maye connected with tight end Hunter Henry on a skinny post during an early 7-on-7 period, and Brissett immediately embraced Maye to give him his props. The veteran quarterback was also among the offensive players who ran down to celebrate after Polk's catch.
Brissett is here to compete for his own job on the roster as the Patriots hand-picked bridge quarterback, which he has done adequately. It's not to say he has lit up practice, and we'd give the edge to Maye in terms of downfield completions, but Brissett, as expected, has been competent. Plus, he has fully embraced his role as Maye's mentor.
"That's what this time of year is for," Brissett said of celebrating with his teammates. "Going out there and competing, having fun, and being fans of your teammates. Instilling that confidence in each other. When guys go out there and do the right thing, they should be congratulated."
The other area where Brissett is helping his teammates, both veterans and rookies, is learning Van Pelt's offense. After spending a year with the Browns in 2022, Brissett made 11 starts in the Pats new offensive coordinator's system. So, besides the coaches, Brissett is one of the best resources for his teammates who are still learning the scheme.
"[I'm] trying to fast-track a couple of guys on certain things that I know that this offense is looking for on certain plays. Just trying to be the same guy every day," Brisset said. "The offense's performance through three practices, I'd say, we got better. We've gotten better each day."
At some point, the conversation will turn from Brissett's mentorship to his performance. If the 31-year-old starts games for the Patriots this season, that'll be the focus, not how he encourages his teammates or helps others with the playbook during the early days of this summer.
For now, Brissett is playing the role the organization wants him to as a mentor, with the true litmus tests for him on the horizon as the competition heats up in camp.
3. Milton's Arm Strength Starting and Back Flips Starting to Make Some Noise
Milton's arm talent is ridiculous. It's not so much the deep ball that stands out, but rather the drive throws that he lasers around the field.
The highlight for Milton in Friday's session was a 50-plus yard bazooka that came moments after Maye's connection with Polk. However, from this vantage point, the completion to Javon Baker wouldn't have stood a chance if the pass rush was able to tackle Milton. Instead, a dart on a deep dig to JaQuea Jackson caught the eye. Milton zipped the ball through the zone defense like most quarterbacks would've thrown at eight yards, but Jackson was closer to 15-20 yards downfield.
Milton hasn't been able to truly show off his cannon arm due to the defense taking away downfield options. He's also still developing touch at the first level to throw a more catchable ball in the short game. Still, when he uncorks it, that arm is as advertised, and Milton is also starting to see more practice reps than third-year QB Bailey Zappe.
On Thursday, Milton repped ahead of Zappe as the third quarterback in the four-man rotation. Then, he took opportunity reps after Maye to get extra work at the end of practice. Lastly, you can file this in the training camp softball storyline: backflips. Lots of backflips. Milton did multiple backflips following positive plays in Friday's session, something he told reporters he began learning from his father at age 3. Is that his go-to celebration?
"If I don't get a flag and fine, yeah. To be honest, I wanted to do it in college. But after the UFC player did it, they kind of told them it was banned, so I didn't do it," Milton said. "I'll be safe. I've been doing it since I was three."
Please don't take this as a quarterback controversy, but having two young quarterbacks with upside never hurts.
4. Bailey Zappe Discusses Limited Reps in Last Two Practice Sessions
As mentioned, the third-year quarterback has repped behind Brissett and the two rookies over the last few days as the fourth quarterback in the rotation.
"I don't really get into 'he got more than I did' or anything like that. That's left to the coaches. It's based off the quality of those reps," Zappe told reporters on Friday.
Using the word leapfrog to describe Milton's increased workload on the depth chart is premature, but that's how it feels. In terms of reps, here's how it has shaken out in the first three days: Maye (45), Brissett (44), Milton (31), and Zappe (24).
DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer
