As the New England Patriots’ second-year quarterback, Drake Maye, gears up for his first postseason run, his offensive coordinator has a simple message for him. Josh McDaniels wants his QB to get better and has emphasized improvement in practice as the season winds down and the playoffs approach.

Which naturally raises the question, how did Maye and McDaniels even get here in the first place, with New England sitting at 12–3 and a couple of games still to play? According to McDaniels, the answer goes all the way back to training camp, when he first caught a glimpse of Maye’s poise and control. The traits that would quietly shape the season that followed.

“There was one in training camp,” McDaniels told Peter Schrager on his podcast, when asked if there was a moment that made him realize Maye was different, “where there was a broken play and he scrambled to his right, and he was literally almost out of bounds, and it was just a couple of feet from the sideline.

“I didn’t know if he was going to run out of bounds [or] throw it away. And he threw it, and it had to be 60-something yards, and [Demario] Pop [Douglas]’s running down the sideline, and I’m like, ‘There’s no way he can get the ball to this guy’ – and it literally landed like this. I kinda looked around like, ‘Did anyone else see that’, cause that was nuts.”

In many ways, that moment set the tone for everything that followed. For Maye. And for the Patriots. To be clear, it wasn’t all smooth early on. The 23-year-old had his growing pains during camp while adjusting to McDaniels’ system. But the learning curve was steep and in the best way possible. As the season progressed, Maye’s command of the offense became more evident, and New England’s results followed.

The Patriots are now playoff-bound for the first time since 2021, with Maye firmly at the center of it all. That’s why it’s hard to argue against the idea that Maye is thriving in McDaniels’ offense. The Erhardt-Perkins system isn’t about rigid routes or predetermined throws. It’s concept-based. It asks the quarterback to read coverages, understand leverage, and adjust in real time against man or zone.

And the numbers back that up. Through 15 games, Maye has thrown for 3,947 yards, fourth-most in the league, while tying for fifth with 25 passing touchdowns. He’s completing 70.9% of his passes, and the Patriots’ offense has quietly become one of the league’s most efficient units.

New England is averaging 27.3 points per game (seventh), 370.1 yards per game (sixth), and 6.0 yards per play (third). They’re converting 42.46% of their third downs, also seventh in the league. These are good numbers, and these are the reasons why Drake Maye is one of the top MVP contenders.

How the season ultimately ends is still an open question. But one thing feels clear now. Josh McDaniels saw something in Maye back in training camp, long before the wins piled up. And the QB has delivered to his credit.

Josh McDaniels talks about his first Drake Maye impression

When Mike Vrabel brought Josh McDaniels back to New England, the offensive coordinator was still in the early stages of getting to know his quarterback. Those first interactions with Drake Maye weren’t about playbooks or coverages. In fact, McDaniels made it clear in one of the early press conferences that rather than jumping straight into football, he focused on building a bit of off-the-field chemistry first.

Now, months later, when McDaniels reflects on his first impressions, the football part almost feels secondary. He talks about Maye as a great kid, someone who carries himself the right way and has his priorities in order.

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“He’s a special kid,” McDaniels told Schrager. “I’ve told his parents a number of times, you know, they’ve done an incredible job with their boys. And just being around him on a daily basis, you talk about a kid who’s got his priorities straight. He’s of the highest character.

“He’s a great teammate, he’s easy to coach, he’s the guy that’s going to grind and work as hard as anybody else wants to win, but wants his teammates and the people around him to win also. And so it’s just been such a pleasure to be around him and coach him. And he listens. He asks great questions.”

McDaniels’ perspective on Maye, both before the season began and now, with the regular season nearing its end, feels like a snapshot of where the Patriots’ offense is headed. The understanding between the OC and his QB, on the field and away from it, has become increasingly clear as the weeks have gone by. And it’s reflected in New England’s overall performance.

The Patriots started the season on a strong note, and there’s a sense they’re positioned to finish it the same way. But the regular season is only part of the story. Once the postseason begins, that’s when the real grind starts. For Maye. For McDaniels. And for the Patriots.