Patriots QB Drake Maye Transcript 10/29
PATRIOTS QUARTERBACK DRAKE MAYE
PRESS CONFERENCE
October 29, 2025
Q: How was it out there?
DM: It was good. We’re outside. Embracing the weather. It’s New England. Shoot, this is the weather that – it’s football weather. I mean, if it starts getting a little cold, that’s what you want.
Q: A little wet?
DM: Yeah, a little mist out there. So, it was fun.
Q: Drake, I’m going to kind of put you on the spot here, but do you remember the first time you hit a deep ball?
DM: The first time I hit a deep ball? Oh, jeez. Probably in the backyard with my brothers before anything. Throwing it deep. But in a game?
Q: Which brother?
DM: Which brother? Ooh, I was the receiver for the longest, because I was the youngest. They wouldn’t let me play quarterback. As I got older, probably Luke [Maye]. Luke’s probably one of the faster ones.
Q: Maybe more recently in high school, just tell me a little bit about the feeling you got when you hit it. Did you realize maybe it was a part of your game that could make you special?
DM: I think it’s something you have to be able to do to play at this level. To play in the NFL is to be able to throw some deep shots and give it a chance. I remember in high school, we had big crowds at high school back in – I went to Myers Park [High School] in Charlotte – and I just remember throwing deep balls and the crowd would gasp. Just hearing that gasp was pretty cool. Whether it’s incomplete or not – hopefully we completed more than we didn’t – but I think hearing the crowd get into it, I think you always get excited. Coach was talking about how you can hear kind of the gasp – on the trick plays too, you always hear it. So, it’s one of those things that, shoot, whenever we have them, try to take them. Other than that, just move on to the next play.
Q: How well did you get to know the other quarterbacks from your class last year? And have you stayed up on how they’re doing so far?
DM: Yeah. I mean, I got to know a lot of them really well. Shoot, I trained with Bo Nix. I trained with him for the draft, stayed in touch with him. He’s playing great. Jayden [Daniels]’s had some injuries, but he’s played well when he’s been in there. Yeah, I think I knew them all pretty well. I got to know Mike [Michael Penix Jr.] throughout the draft process, being at the Manning camp and all the different things. So, he spins the football. I like the way he throws it. He’s a southpaw, but it comes out of his hand great, and I remember noticing that when I threw with him. So, J.J. [McCarthy] – me and J.J. are cool. Don’t want to not name anybody, who else is in there? Spencer Rattler and Caleb [Williams]. Yeah, Caleb. Me and Caleb go back to high school. So, I got to know him really well and they’re doing some things in Chicago.
Q: What stands out most to you about this Falcons defense?
DM: Yeah, I think they’re veteran in the secondary besides the one safety – I think he’s a rookie. But shoot, they get their eyes – Jessie Bates [III] is one of the best at it, making plays on the ball. They’ve got a lockdown corner. And [Mike] Hughes through the field, he’s playing well too. So, I think they’re disruptive. I think they penetrate. They do a lot of different stuff, blitzing-wise. We’ve got to be good with what they can bring. Take a look at third down. They do some good stuff on third down. So, they’re disruptive, they make you kind of play on your toes and I think the biggest thing about them is they move during the cadence, move during the snap. They do a good job of mixing things up. They’re young up front and I think they’re starting to have some players make plays. So, we’ve got our hands full.
Q: Drake, when you’re preparing for a game, how cognizant are you of the officiating group? Which series of referees officiated which game, you have a history with this guy – I know Brad Allen is officiating this week. He was with you guys in Miami. Are you aware of that in terms of what he might call?
DM: Coach Vrabel’s great at kind of cluing us in on the crew, what they like to call and what they may be trending towards calling more this season. He kind of gives us that. Really, other than that, I just try to get to know the white hats and be as nice as I can to them. But other than that, yeah, I think just seeing guys again and again throughout my career, just trying to create a relationship. And I think you kind of see more and more of the same white hats and same referees. So, yeah, I think that Coach Vrabel does a good job of cluing us in on little things, whether it’s lining up right, holding penalties or stuff like that.
Q: Drake, speaking of little things, how much better are you at some of the little things in quarterbacking that lead to big things like manipulating safeties with your eye movement, maybe eliminating steps in the progression where you see the matchup and it’s not there, you know, “OK, that one’s going to be out of question on this next step,” and so forth?
DM: Yeah, I think I’ve still got a lot of work to do in that regard. I think Coach is challenging me to keep on taking that next step and those little things, moving defenders, using my cadence and things like that. He’s really challenging me and coaching me hard to continue to do those things at a high level, and I think I’ve got a long way to go in that category. But I’m trying to work on them in practice, trying to work on those little things, work on looking off safeties and doing things like that in practice because I think that translates and helps translate to the game.
Q: Drake, on that note, it looked like last Sunday when you hit the seam throw to [Austin] Hooper, they had a bust in cover 2. You hit it immediately. Did you anticipate that, or what do you remember seeing on that play?
DM: Yeah, I think you can just kind of – you’ll feel when they’re playing in man versus kind of going to a split-safety look. I think it looked like the corners were maybe trying to play the deep half, and just kind of when you feel something, you kind of see it. I saw the safety on the left go to the deep half, so I’m just trying to use as much information as I can pre-snap and see what changes or if it stays the same post-snap, and just adjust and know where my guys are going to be at. Hoop did a great job getting his eyes back.
Q: Kyle [Dugger] and Keion [White] both traded away yesterday. How do you, as one of the leaders of this team, view changes in the locker room as it helps this team or changes this team?
DM: I think just trusting the big picture and what they’re doing in the front office, the coaching staff. Also reach out to those guys who have left the team, who spent time here and you got to create a relationship with them. I remember Keion in college had three sacks on me his last year at Georgia Tech. So, that was one of the first things I said to him when I met him here. But yeah, you may never know if you’ll see him again. He could be a teammate down the road, so just check in. I think as a leader on this team, just to, like I said, trust who they have in that locker room and kind of create a bond with those guys. I think those guys are seeing and starting to gel together. So, you hate to see guys that you get to know leave, but at the same time, whoever’s in the locker room ready to go on Sundays is who we’re worried about.
Q: What’s your philosophy on tight window throws and how do you work on that?
DM: You work on it in practice. I think part of it’s scout team, part of it’s dating back to training camp and throwing in tight windows versus Gonzo [Christian Gonzalez], CD [Carlton Davis III], [Jaylinn] Hawkins or Craig [Woodson]. I think just trying to throw over linebackers, trying to throw through them, trying to be accurate with the football. Tight window throws are something in this league that I’ve kind of learned from college that, in man, it’s going to be close coverage, and it may not be as open as it is in college, but in the NFL it’s open. So, just giving our guy a chance, and realize that receivers, tight ends and even running backs have caught the ball their whole life, and guys on defense aren’t as used to playing the football.
Q: From last year to this year, was there one moment or period of time where you could really feel your game moving to a new level? And when that happens, what is that feeling like for you?
DM: Yeah, I couldn’t pinpoint one. I think I’m just trying to work it week-by-week. I think it’s tough to pinpoint an exact moment. I think there’s a lot of plays I’m leaving out that I could play better, and even help this team play better offensively. So, I think I’m just trying to take it week-by-week, and these guys around me are doing a great job helping me out.
Q: Kind of building off of Mike [Reiss]’s question, how have you developed as much trust as you seem to have right now in Kayshon [Boutte]? It just feels like even maybe dating back to last season, you guys have a connection down the field especially. How has he made sure that you have his or he has your trust?
DM: Yeah, I think you keep throwing to a guy and he keeps making plays, I mean, it’s as simple as that. It’s not really any more difficult than that. I remember throwing to him on scout team last year in the first couple weeks I played it. And then just from there – shoot, I think I hit a go ball on Gonzo one of my first practices here in training camp with Boutte my rookie year. You just remember things of throwing deep throws, seeing him come up on the right side of it and it just makes you want to keep going back to it. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Q: Mike [Vrabel] talked a little bit about – I asked him about the deep ball. He said that trust is kind of like a starting point. I know we were just talking about trust with Boutte, but it goes with the offensive line, it goes with you trusting yourself, your eyes and what you’re reading. So, how have you seen that trust evolve, whether it’s a tight window throw or a downfield throw? Are you trusting yourself, trusting your teammates?
DM: Yeah, it starts with the guys up front, trusting those guys. I think they know in the huddle, based on the call, some of the same words are showing up for deep shots and the offensive line gets excited. So, it makes them want to block, makes them want to hold in and be good up front. And then those guys down the field, they’re just worried about the details and knowing that one-on-one is open. I keep on telling them I’m going to give you a chance to go make a play, they keep on making plays and building trust every week. So, that trust isn’t going to change. I threw one out of bounds to Boutte last week, so I’ve got to do my part and keep on giving them a chance.
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