{"id":703864,"date":"2026-06-14T16:52:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T16:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/703864\/"},"modified":"2026-06-14T16:52:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T16:52:08","slug":"sunday-patriots-notes-pats-seek-to-weaponize-drake-mayes-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/703864\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday Patriots Notes: Pats seek to \u2018weaponize\u2019 Drake Maye\u2019s mind"},"content":{"rendered":"

While another sporting event has taken center stage at Gillette Stadium, the New England Patriots are on to their summer break. The team of head coach Mike Vrabel wrapped up its mandatory minicamp<\/a> on Thursday, and with the exception of its rookie class is now officially in vacation mode.<\/p>\n

Before we do the same \u2014 there are only so many Patriots talking points available between now and training camp \u2014 let\u2019s clean out the notebook from the week that was. Welcome to the latest edition of our Sunday Patriots Notes.<\/p>\n

Drake Maye was one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in 2025, but as the playoffs in particular showed there is still plenty of room for growth for the 23-year-old. In order to help him take those next steps in his second year in the Patriots\u2019 new offense, the coaching staff is trying to push his limits and explore one area in particular.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to weaponize Drake\u2019s mind,\u201d said quarterbacks coach Ashton Grant, \u201cand all the quarterback\u2019s minds. As opposed to just being throwers of the football, we want them to be operators of the offense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mandatory minicamp saw multiple examples of that in practice, with the Patriots oftentimes pushing the tempo on offense while also having Maye assess the defense and make calls on the line. Operational speed and decision making were both focal points for Grant and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re going to put the onus on the quarterback to have more responsibility, let\u2019s practice giving him the freedom to have that responsibility, just to exercise those things,\u201d Grant explained. \u201cWhen you\u2019re a quarterback, and when you\u2019re on the ball, and you have somebody telling you what to do, it\u2019s easy to operate. You can tone the thinking down a little bit, so to speak.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut when you\u2019re in charge of the operation, the communication, getting all of the other 10 guys on the same page, but you have no play call, then it\u2019s pretty cool to see him start to calculate, \u2018OK, what is the matchup? Do I think a pressure is coming? Do I have time to get the ball off? What play do I want to get to?\u2019 For him to tune in, it gives him some ownership of the offense as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maye himself is welcoming the increased pressure that was added to his practice routine.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s trying to be a play caller,\u201d the MVP runner-up said. \u201cIt\u2019s tough in this environment when they\u2019ve got 18 seconds on the clock in practice and I\u2019m trying to do a hard count and trying to get us in a play that we like. I think it\u2019s awesome to challenge me and to push my limits of knowing the offense, knowing what play looks good against what the defense has up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best thing that we\u2019ve been trying to focus on is limiting negative plays. Negative plays in this league put you behind the chains, whether it\u2019s in the red zone, in base downs, and just trying to stay ahead of the chains and knowing that it\u2019s really on me to put us in good plays, get us out of bad plays and, stay ahead of the chains.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Patriots have a future superstar at the quarterback position, and his commercial value reflects that: Maye ranked second among all NFL players during the 2025 season \u2014 i.e. from March 1, 2025 to February 28, 2026 \u2014 in merchandise sale. Only Bills quarterback Josh Allen out-performed New England\u2019s young QB:<\/p>\n

Maye soared an astonishing 30 spots compared to the previous year\u2019s ranking, according to data released by the NFLPA<\/a>. A big part of his ranking was jersey sales: no player in the NFL sold more jerseys than the Patriots\u2019 No. 10 during that time frame, putting him ahead of Allen, Saquon Barkley, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.<\/p>\n

Entering his sixth year in the NFL, Rhamondre Stevenson is the elder statesman in the Patriots\u2019 running back room. The closest teammates in terms of experience is Terrell Jennings, who arrived three years after the former fourth-round draft choice.<\/p>\n

Naturally, his experience puts Stevenson in a unique position among his peers \u2014 one he has willingly accepted, according to his coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe does a great job of sharing his experiences through the years, from when he\u2019s talking to the rookies about, \u2018Hey, this is something that happened when I was a rookie and how I dealt with things,\u2019 all the way through when we\u2019re watching film and I\u2019m making a correction,\u201d said Patriots RB coach Tony Dews.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe may say, \u2018Hey, TreVeyon, on this I look at this or saw that, and this is why I did this.\u2019 Or it may be I\u2019m showing a route or something he did, and he may be able to then say, \u2018Hey, Rhamondre, why\u2019d you do that?\u2019 and then he can explain to the room why he did something and maybe something that they hadn\u2019t thought about or they hadn\u2019t experienced. And so, they do it. And if they can take that and put that into their toolbox, and it helps them, great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Competition and chemistry are two of the pillars of Mike Vrabel\u2019s system, and he is trying to push those buttons constantly in hopes of improving his team. One example is the introduction of some extra games every Wednesday in the offseason ranging from sled-pushing to escape room challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s great. It just brings extra competition to the building, which I think is a great idea,\u201d said guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, who joined the Patriots from the Jets this offseason. \u201cI guarantee you, not every team in this league is thinking about little things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of those games took place in minicamp, with the team splitting in 13 teams of around seven players each, trying to out-perform the others in pushing sleds down the practice fields.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust group family sled pushes. Best family with the best time gets the most points,\u201d explained Vera-Tucker. \u201cAll these competitions we have throughout the offseason, all the points add up. Obviously, you want to put on for your group and your family. So, good competition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rookie tight end Eli Raridon said that it was his team that won the competition. Raridon was joined by fellow tight end Jack Westover as well as wide receiver Efton Chism, offensive tackle Marcus Bryant, defensive tackle Milton Williams and cornerback Kindle Vildor.<\/p>\n

The Patriots lost their nominal No. 2 tight end, Julian Hill, to a season-ending injury during organized team activities. While the team is trying to figure out how to replace him on the field \u2014 Jack Westover and Eli Raridon appeared to lead the charge in minicamp \u2014 his teammates want to make sure Hill gets through the ordeal as well as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually had a similar thing happen,\u201d said fellow TE Hunter Henry. \u201cMy third year I got hurt in OTAs as well, it was a freak thing that put me out for a year. So, I\u2019ve communicated that I\u2019ve been through it and I\u2019ve come out on the other side, obviously. Hopefully, I can just be there for him and be someone he can rely on through this rehab process and the coming-back process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hill joined the Patriots on a three-year, $15 million free agency pact<\/a> in March and was projected to serve as New England\u2019s second option at the position alongside Henry. However, that plan will not be set into motion until 2027 now.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s tough to lose a guy like that,\u201d Henry said. \u201cI really enjoyed being around Julian these past few months and getting to know him just as a guy. His locker was actually right next to mine, so I got to spend a lot of time with him day in and day out. What an unfortunate thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Patriots\u2019 special teams operation had a good 2025 season, but one big area where it was still lacking was the kickoff return game. The Patriots finished the regular season ranked only 19th in the NFL with an average of 25.5 yards per runback and nobody truly emerging as a viable long-term option particularly after Antonio Gibson\u2019s season-ending ACL tear.<\/p>\n

With Gibson since released<\/a>, the Patriots are looking for a new returner to take over. According to special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer every wide receiver and running back on the roster is a candidate for the vacant role, because those positions are best suited to fill it under the league\u2019s new kickoff rules.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefinitely a guy that\u2019s going to make every catch and is going to make really good decisions back there, and a guy that is going to go straight fast,\u201d Springer said. \u201cNot a lot of cuts. Not a lot of movements. Not a lot of reading. It\u2019s one read and go.\u201d<\/p>\n

One player mentioned by Springer to possibly compete for the job was second-year wide receiver Kyle Williams.<\/p>\n

The Patriots invited undrafted rookie free agent Devin Bale to their mandatory minicamp, and the former Arkansas punter participated in all three days of the event. That speaks for a certain level of interest, but at the moment the team is not signing Bale to a contract.<\/p>\n

The circumstances could change at some point in the future, but as things currently stand fourth-year man Bryce Baringer will remain as New England\u2019s lone punter heading toward training camp.<\/p>\n

First-round draft pick Caleb Lomu signed his rookie contract with the Patriots before minicamp, and promptly received a $10.2 million signing bonus as part of it. Despite his new-found wealth, the youngster did not go around to lavishly spend money. Instead, his first investment went into his hobby.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not really a guy who spends too much money,\u201d he said. \u201cOne of the first thingsI got was just a new golf set. I\u2019m big into golf. I love playing some golf, so I had to get some longer ones, kind of outgrew my old set. So, that was really the big purchase that I\u2019ve made.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before the Patriots left for their summer break, Mike Vrabel left them with a pretty simple message: don\u2019t underestimate the importance of the next few weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose weeks from the end of their time here until training camp are some of the most important days of the entire season. That is just what it is,\u201d he recalled as his parting message for the team. \u201cI think that it\u2019s human nature to go harder and to compete. When you\u2019re in a schedule and you\u2019re next to guys that you are going to be competing with for spots or play time and everything that goes along with the NFL and the process, you work a little harder.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have to somehow either be around guys or other players that are doing the same thing and getting ready for the same thing they\u2019re getting ready for, or they have to put themselves in the mindset of, \u201cHey, what was it like on Thursday when I lifted? The guy to my position was lifting and he was running or training.\u201d That\u2019s what they have to try to do. That\u2019s the balance that we wage. Some of the guys that have come from college, they get a week off, and then they\u2019re in their summer conditioning program on campus. This is just a little different, and we understand that. Those are important days that they maintain and be ready to go so that we can be ready to go in training camp.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Patriots\u2019 offseason workout program was originally scheduled to extend into this coming week, but Mike Vrabel decided to cut it short by scrapping three OTA practices and moving mandatory minicamp up a week. This means that the veteran players are now already on their summer break while rookies will stay behind to finish up their developmental program.<\/p>\n

At Pats Pulpit, meanwhile, we will tone things down a bit, too. That said, we will still provide you with daily coverage, including additional offseason wrap-up coverage, training camp previews, and our roster scouting report series<\/a>. So, make sure to stay tuned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While another sporting event has taken center stage at Gillette Stadium, the New England Patriots are on to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":703865,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[75372,280297,36480,349,99],"class_list":["post-703864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-new-england-patriots-analysis","tag-new-england-patriots-offseason-coverage","tag-new-england-patriots-opinion","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=703864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703864\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/703865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=703864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=703864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=703864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}