FOXBORO — Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is far from a finished product, but offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt has been very impressed with the rookie’s improvement.

Van Pelt specifically highlighted Maye’s footwork on Thursday morning.

“Big growth. Yeah, so really, plus pluses, double pluses on some of the footwork in this past game,” Van Pelt said. “Really understanding, there was a play there late in the game to Hooper that was like clinic tape. So when you take it off, you’ll put that in, that concept teach tape of what to do with your feet, your eyes and everything. So he’s continuing to grow.”

Maye threw an ugly interception in Sunday’s win against the Bears, but Van Pelt explained why he’s not concerned about it.

“That’s a play that will haunt him for the rest of the season. That was as easy as it gets to throw it away over the head of the tight end there. Just short-armed it a little bit and got stuck,” Van Pelt said. “But other than that, we’ve got to take care of the ball in the pocket from a ball-security standpoint, and I think we’ve worked that each week. Moving forward, not worried about it.

“He’s a guy that, he’s going to make plays down the field, and he’s going to have plays that are made by the defense down the field. That’s just the mentality of him as a passer. That one the other day, I’m not worried about at all. Just an errant pass by him that 10 out of 10 times he’s throwing over the head and getting back in the huddle.”

Van Pelt joked, “We always say if no one’s open, there’s one guy that’s always open, and that’s the tuba player in row 4. So, I’d like to see him put that ball right in the tuba.”