Patriots’ Josh McDaniels ‘Most Impressed’ By This Drake Maye Trait

Josh McDaniels and Drake Maye have proved a fruitful pairing for the New England Patriots.

Returning for his third stint with the Patriots as offensive coordinator, McDaniels led Maye to MVP-caliber heights in his second season. Maye registered a 113.5 quarterback rating for the 14-3 Patriots, who host the Los Angeles Chargers in a first-round playoff game on Sunday night.

Before the AFC matchup, ESPN’s Mike Reiss examined the relationship between McDaniels and Maye. The duo bonded over pickleball before spearheading one of the NFL’s most prolific offenses in 2025.

McDaniels theorized that Maye’s growth mindset has helped him quickly develop into a star quarterback.

“What I’m most impressed and excited about is how much he grows from a good or bad experience,” McDaniels said. “I don’t know what else you could ask from a player. Some take a little bit longer than others to digest a mistake and learn from it, and then utilize it. Boy, he does that really well.”

To that point, Maye appreciates McDaniels creating competitive practice environments.

“He really takes practice very seriously, and I think that’s one of the greatest things about him,” Maye said. “He cares so much about practice and getting practice right.”

Meanwhile, back-up quarterback Joshua Dobbs explained what makes the Maye and McDaniels partnership perfect.

“You have an experienced coach who has done it at the highest level, who has seen the progression of (Tom Brady) come in and become the greatest ever,” Dobbs said. “And you have a curious and wide-eyed young player who’s very talented at football coming off a year where you don’t win a lot, so you’re like, ‘I’ll do whatever if it means we’ll be good.’ I think that’s a good combination.”