One way to set a rookie quarterback up for success is by providing him with security blankets that can provide an easy target for young quarterbacks like Drake Maye.
For the Patriots, tight ends Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper have emerged as reliable outlets for Maye. The Pats tight end duo ranks fourth in the NFL with 70 combined receptions for 728 receiving yards this season. The only rooms that have been more productive than New England's tight ends are Baltimore (Mark Andrews), Las Vegas (Brock Bowers), and Kansas City (Travis Kelce) – that's pretty great company.
"I ask Hunter a bunch of questions. I think Hunter's a wealth of knowledge. Him, Jacoby, [Austin] Hooper, David [Andrews] and guys like that, that are just on the offense, that veteran side," Maye said on Wednesday. "Hunter is just a classic example of me trying to soak up information and try to feed one of our best players the football."
"[Henry]'s just a true vet. He's one of the best players on our football team, so I'm trying to get him the football," Maye continued.
The Patriots rookie quarterback is learning from Henry and Hooper, who are both in their ninth season with 65 career touchdowns between them. Along with being productive pass-catchers, the Pats tight end duo are also emerging mentors, with Henry being named a team captain. With Maye, though, the veterans only have one piece of advice for their rookie quarterback: "Get your (bleep) down."
Although his teammates love seeing Maye extend plays and make yards on scrambles, Henry and Hooper have made it a combined 18 years in the league by being available to their teams. To that end, Hooper, at least, would like to see the rookie protect himself.
"All we tell him is get your ass down, man. You don't need to run over everybody. We all know you're tough. We want to see you around here a long time, buddy," Hooper told Patriots.com. "Other than that, I don't tell him a darn thing. He's a good player already."
"The biggest thing is you just got to listen to him. Ultimately, he's the guy with the ball in his hands," Hooper continued. "It's not like us imposing our ideas on him. It's like, hey, what do you like? He's the trigger man who decides where the ball goes. Just being cooperative with him and understanding how he sees things. Your job as route runners is to see the game the same way that your passer sees it."
Seeing the game through the same set of eyes as Maye is why the Patriots tight ends are thriving in this offense. The duo has a knack for being where their quarterback expects them, whether in or out of structure when plays break down.
As for the in-structure offense, the Patriots tight end tandem is doing well with finding soft spots in zone coverage by sitting their routes down in voids for Maye to hit them. Above, the Pats ran the same cross-sit concept with Henry sitting down over the ball twice in last week's loss to the Rams, hitting Henry both times for a combined 30 yards. Maye is reading the short zone defenders' reaction to Hooper's crossing route. If the crosser causes them to widen, he'll throw over the ball to Henry. But, if they stay inside, he can throw the crosser.
"Just a function of AVP seeing something in their defense and saying it worked, let's just number up. Don't fix it. Hunter had two for 30 yards off that one play. It's AVP being super knowledgeable, seeing how they're matching, carrying, whatever, the front, the shell, and just seeing like, okay, let's dial this up. If it works, cool. We'll go back to it," Hooper said.
When the Patriots face man coverage, it becomes a game of anticipation and trust for Maye with his tight ends. Whether it's the trust to throw the ball into tight coverage or the timing to hit them coming out of their breaks, Maye has shown both can be successful with Henry and Hooper.
In this clip, New England runs a "sail" concept where the vertical clears out the sideline for Hooper to fill in underneath on a corner route. Chicago plays man coverage, with the nickel corner matching Hooper's route. Since the boundary corner carries the clear-out, Maye knows Bears CB Kyler Gordon doesn't have help over the top, so when Gordon turns his back to the quarterback, Maye throws it up for Hooper to high-point the ball.
Henry has also become a go-to target for Maye against man coverage. The duo has connected seven times for 62 yards and four first downs vs. man schemes. This time, the Pats are running "little stick" where they once again have a vertical to clear out the sideline while Henry runs an out past the sticks. Maye begins his throwing motion as Henry gathers at the top of his route, trusting the veteran tight end will beat his man. Once he gets his head around, the ball is already on Henry for a first-down completion.
"Confidence is just repetition over time. You keep working at it in practice, and eventually, it becomes game reality. Drake is just getting more comfortable throwing to Hunter and getting more comfortable throwing to me. It's just reps. Just getting that chemistry, timing, whatever you want to call it," Hooper told me.
Another area where Maye has flourished throwing to his tight ends is when he improvises. The Pats QB has been one of the top play-creators in the NFL during his rookie season, buying time with his mobility and finding receivers on the move. Henry, in particular, has had a few chunk plays working with Maye off-script when plays break down.
"You work on scramble drills a little bit, but sometimes it's just a feel thing," Henry told reporters this week. "I feel like always in football, ever since I started playing, I've always just kind of had a feel for the game and feel for zones. Maybe it's not something a coach has ever taught me, but it's something that I have just a natural knack for."
The Patriots tight end duo has also been very productive on screen plays. New England has thrown 11 screen passes to their tight ends, with them converting that into 100 yards on 10 catches, the most yardage of any tight end group on screens. The Pats TEs also rank fourth in total yards after the catch, accumulating 364 yards after the catch this season.
Last week, the Patriots hit Hooper for a 19-yard gain on a screen pass during their first-quarter touchdown drive. The Pats dressed up the play by motioning WR DeMario Douglas across the formation and running a fake to RB Antonio Gibson from under center. That got the Rams defense flowing to the offense's right, and then Hooper delayed his release on the left side of the formation with Henry taking a defender with him. The play design got Hooper free for a chunk gain that set up the score.
Over the years, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt's offense has gotten solid production from the tight end position. During his four seasons in Cleveland, the Browns ranked fifth in receiving yards from the tight end position, featuring Pro Bowl tight end David Njoku and Hooper, who spent two seasons with Van Pelt in Cleveland before joining the Patriots this past offseason.
"AVP definitely likes to spread the ball around. There are some offenses that just throw it to the outside guys. AVP is like we have five eligible receivers, I mean, shoot, we saw it last week when we threw one to an O-Linemen," Hooper noted. "Being able to spread the ball out definitely gets the defense more targets to worry about."
Hooper signed a one-year deal in free agency with the Patriots this past offseason. Henry signed a three-year contract extension to remain in New England in the spring, so he's under contract. Given his solid production, it would make sense for the team to explore retaining Hooper after this season. Henry and Hooper are producing on the field, while the two veterans are emerging as leaders for an offense with a rookie quarterback and a young receiver room. Their leadership and performance are helping the Patriots offense be more productive since Maye took over as the starter.
With the arrow pointing upward on the offense as a whole, the Patriots tight end tandem is one of the most productive duos in the NFL.
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
