Patriots insider shares Drake Maye, A.J. Brown warning for rest of NFL

The New England Patriots gave quarterback Drake Maye a new favorite target when they acquired wide receiver A.J. Brown from the Philadelphia Eagles in early June.

On Thursday, Patriots insider Mark Daniels of MassLive shared a warning for the rest of the NFL regarding how Maye and Brown looked throughout their first training camp together. 

Drake Maye "much more comfortable" with Josh McDaniels' offense this summer

"This is the second season for the young quarterback with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels," Daniels wrote about Maye. "It was noticeable how much more comfortable Maye looked in camp this year compared with last summer. In 2025, Maye completed 62% (143-of-230) of his passes with four interceptions in full-team drills in training camp. This year, Maye completed 70.2% (186-of-265) of his passes with seven interceptions. Maye looks more decisive and confident this summer."

Maye guided the Patriots to a 14-3 regular-season record en route to finishing as the MVP runner-up behind Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams. According to StatMuse, Maye ended the regular season with a league-best 4,844 combined passing and rushing yards. Per Pro Football Reference, he was first in the league among qualified players with a 77.1 adjusted QBR, a 113.5 passer rating and a 72 percent completion percentage.

A.J. Brown already looks like he has played with Drake Maye for years

ESPN stats show that Stefon Diggs led the 2025 Patriots with 85 receptions, 102 targets and 1,013 receiving yards. That said, previous reports noted that the Patriots believe that having Brown as a weapon will help Maye improve the team's red-zone scoring percentage after New England ranked 24th in that category and 17th in red-zone touchdown percentage last season. 

"Maye wasted no time getting Brown acclimated this summer," Daniels added. "The Pro Bowl receiver was acquired after OTAs, so he missed most of the spring in New England. You could barely tell in camp. Brown led all Patriots receivers with 54 receptions from Maye in training camp. For comparison, Stefon Diggs caught 20 passes from the quarterback last summer in full-team drills."

Maye likely will look for Brown early and often when the Patriots open the regular season with a Super Bowl rematch at the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 9.