When Josh McDaniels came back to the New England Patriots, it was a clear sign of a resurgence of the Tom Brady era. The man who helped shape the GOAT through the league now had a similar mission, with Drake Maye leading under center. After a 4-13 season, Maye held a 3-9 record. Despite this rocky start, there were clear signs of potential from the former first-round pick. Even McDaniels had pointed out he was “smitten by the young man in terms of just his personality.” But now, there seems to be a little communication barrier between the QB and his OC as they navigate this offseason.
Communication is a big part of the offense, not just between the QB and his weapons, but between the QB and his coach as well. Josh McDaniels had recently said, “I think that’s what you have to do nowadays… When the quarterback has thoughts and opinions and ideas of what he feels food about, you certainly have to take all that in…” But what do you do when the QB can’t hear your instructions? That’s something Drake Maye and Josh McDaniels have had to discover recently.
During one of the minicamp sessions with the Patriots, Drake Maye was mic’d up. From talking about the “beautiful day” to encouraging his teammates through the plays, Maye infected everyone with his energy. He was also throwing clean passes everywhere on the field. But if Josh McDaniels was giving him suggestions on the mic, Maye didn’t hear any of it. Not by choice or out of spite, though. The reason was actually hilarious. Josh McDaniels visibly had the mic placed near his nose throughout the camp. And over the noise on the field, Drake Maye had trouble hearing what the coach was saying. As he hilariously noted, “He keeps that mic on his nose, I can’t hear him. Look where the mic’s at on his face. The mic’s at his eye on his face.”
#Patriots OC Josh McDaniels and Drake Maye are a dynamic duo.
“He keeps that mic on his nose, I can’t hear him. Look where the mic’s at on his face. The mic’s at his eye on his face.”
( @PATRIOTSdotCOM) pic.twitter.com/t7hmlWp5qP
— Carlos A. Lopez (@LosTalksPats) June 19, 2025
Despite this lighthearted moment, Josh McDaniels looked visibly impressed with his QB and all smiles as he fist-bumped Drake Maye. Maye had a rocky start this offseason, throwing interceptions during training at one point, even bringing his future into question. But that was back in May, and Maye has had a lot more practice since then. Maye learned a lot from McDaniels. “I think his way – he’s been an offensive coordinator and head coach. He does it at a high level. That stuff works. The proof is in the pudding. He’s coached a lot of different guys. He coached the best to ever do it [Tom Brady]. So it’s pretty cool getting to watch the old things of Tom, and seeing how he does it. A bunch of different guys play at a high level in the offense.”
And now, the skills that made him a first-round pick are no longer in question. There’s a different challenge for the Patriots’ QB, and it’s also something he’s already working on.
Drake Maye’s challenge with the Patriots in ’25
Josh McDaniels might not have given audible instructions to Drake Maye, but his coaching has already started reaping benefits for the entire roster. Even Maye had noted himself recently, “I’m starting to really find a stride… It’s all the same concepts in the league, but it’s different words, different verbiage. It’s mostly the same guys running, but just feeling out how they run it and timing when you get into different concepts. It’s been good.” As Maye works to unlock the full potential of the McDaniels playbook, he’s also got access to the GOAT’s plays. Maye has been going through all the films in the Patriots’ database, as he noted, “It’s all their play-calls, all coach McDaniels’ stuff and what he did with Tom.” While he’s absorbing those and improving, the thing that remains a hurdle for him now is leadership.
As former Patriots WR Chris Hogan discussed recently, Drake Maye needs to work more on leading the team. As Hogan put it, “I think for Drake, it’s more of how are you managing practice? How are you managing film study in the meeting rooms? If a guy is consistently making the same mistake in practice, how are you managing that?” Hogan also compared it to how Brady ran things back in the day. “He would come down the line and be like, get you sh-t together. This is not us. This is what we have to do. That was part of him.” And for Drake Maye, he might not be shouting cusses to his teammates, but he’s already working on being a vocal leader for the roster.
As we saw when he was mic’d up, Drake Maye was vibing with the whole team, calling plays and even suggesting improvements here and there. Last year was shaky, but this time around he’s got new weapons around him. There are even greater protectors who have sworn to lay down their lives to protect Maye. As Maye enters his second year in the NFL, his mission is to learn from the man who helped create the legendary Tom Brady Patriots era alongside Bill Belichick. And he’s gearing up for it in stride as he recently said, “We have new guys in here, new staff. I have to keep getting to know everybody and show my work ethic. From there, try to take the next step in leadership and leading the offense.”
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