Patriots' Drake Maye opens up about relationship with Josh McDaniels

Over the weekend, New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels made it known that he was "really excited" by how second-year quarterback Drake Maye performed in joint practices with the Minnesota Vikings last week.

During a recent edition of The Athletic's "Scoop City" podcast, Maye opened up about his working relationship with McDaniels heading into their first regular season together.

"He’s always just thinking ahead," Maye said about McDaniels. "He knows the system so well. He kind of knows the answers and knows, kind of second nature, what we should have done or what he saw that play. He sees it so well. It’s cool watching all of the old tape back of all their games back in the days. He knows the down and distance and what was going on and who scored a touchdown and what the protection was and what happened."

Maye was referencing how he has reviewed film of Patriots legend Tom Brady playing in McDaniels' offense as a way to learn what's been referred to as a "wordy" system. Together, Brady and McDaniels helped the Patriots win six Super Bowls as the franchise became the first NFL dynasty of the 2000s. 

"We have plays in practice now that he pulls back old clips of that same play where something happened and kind of relates to that," Maye continued while speaking about McDaniels. "So, it’s really cool to see him relate it back to that and relate it to helping us out and play better."

McDaniels and Co. want Maye to do a better job of protecting the football after the 22-year-old tallied 10 interceptions and six lost fumbles as a rookie. According to StatMuse, only Kirk Cousins, Baker Mayfield and Will Levis committed more turnovers (18) last season than Maye.

"We talk about in the quarterback room, staying confident and cool and collected, kind of when the chaos is going on," Maye added during the podcast. "Try not to get our offense into bad plays and really, it’s just really myself to trust the guys around me. I think that’s the big thing. Trust those guys." 

Maye invited multiple teammates to workouts held in his hometown near Charlotte ahead of training camp after first-year Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel publicly challenged the signal-caller to improve as a leader. Fans will get to see how much Maye truly trusts his playmakers when the Patriots open the upcoming season with a home game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sept. 7.