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Patriots OTA observations: Drake Maye starts slow, finishes strong originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
“We’re kind of getting into real football now.”
That’s one of the first comments head coach Jerod Mayo made to reporters Wednesday at the New England Patriots’ organized team activity session outside Gillette Stadium. While the Patriots have had three official OTAs already, they’ll have three straight sessions from Wednesday to Friday during which they can make real progress in preparing for the 2024 season.
So, what went down on the first of those three sessions? How were the quarterback reps divided between veteran Jacoby Brissett, incumbent backup Bailey Zappe and rookie Drake Maye, and how did each QB perform with those reps?
Here’s everything you need to know about Wednesday’s OTA session based on observations that Patriots Insider Phil Perry posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) from Foxboro:
Attendance
Star edge rusher Matthew Judon and rookie QB Joe Milton were among those missing from Wednesday’s session. Here’s the full list of absent players:
Offensive lineman Sidy Sow was present and in uniform to start the session but left early and didn’t participate, per Perry.
QB snap breakdown
Brissett was the first QB to get reps in team drills and was the “clear No. 1,” according to Perry. Zappe was second up with Maye taking reps third, as he did on Day 1 of OTAs last week.
“In one competitive 11-on-11 period, Brissett and Maye shared a field and took five reps each,” Perry wrote. “Zappe worked on the adjacent field and took all snaps.
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“In a later 11-on-11 period, Brissett took eight snaps. Zappe got five. Maye got three. Maye got more 7-on-7 reps than either veteran because the rookie worked as the lone QB on one field during that period.
“Bottom line: Brissett remains lead dog. Zappe took more 11-on-11 snaps than Maye.”
