FOXBORO — Next up, Drake Maye.
For the first time in practices open to the media this spring, Maye took the next reps after veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett on Tuesday. Maye saw 14 total snaps in the live team periods of the Patriots’ latest voluntary, Organized Team Activity (OTA) practice, trailing only Brissett’s 25. Previously, Maye watched Brissett and Bailey Zappe go under center before getting his shot in 7-on-7 or 11-on-11 drills.
No more.
The rookie didn’t exactly run with his new opportunity, though, tossing a couple interceptions in full-team periods. Maye overthrew an open JuJu Smith-Schuster over the deep middle for his first pick, then fired wide on a checkdown he hurried and veteran safety Kyle Dugger dove left to snatch before it could hit the ground.
Elsewhere on a trying offensive day, Brissett took several sacks, young corners caused disruption in the secondary, the defense dominated in the red zone and a young receiver missed practice after stretching.
Here are the Herald’s complete practice observations:
Absent: OLB Matthew Judon, OL Mike Onwenu, OLB Josh Uche, CB Jonathan Jones, OT Chukwuma Okorafor, DL Davon Godchaux, DB Marcus Jones, LB Sione Takitaki, OL Jake Andrews, OL Zuri Henry, WR T.J. Luther
Limited: WR Javon Baker, CB Marcellas Dial Jr., CB Shaun Wade
Non-participants/known injuries: WR Kendrick Bourne, LB Jahlani Tavai, OL Cole Strange, DT Daniel Ekuale
Notes: Baker and Dial spent most of practice on a lower conditioning field. Neither rookie participated in any drill or team period for reasons unknown. Baker, a fourth-round wide receiver, had been enjoying a strong spring. … Wade left practice early with a member of the training staff and no obvious sign of injury. … Takitaki was a surprise scratch after he was expected to speak with the media after practice. … Ekuale and Tavai strolled into practice and left early in street clothes.
The good: Dugger made a spectacular, split-second decision to dive and snag an errant checkdown late in 11-on-11s. He read Drake Maye’s eyes and was able to jump a pass that more often than not would have resulted in an interception.
The great: After watching Dugger scoop his interception over the short middle, Patriots receiver DeMario Douglas stole possession back. Douglas darted left and dove, reaching for the football that Dugger had exposed upon getting off the turf. Punchout. Fumble. Douglas recovery.
That’s heads-up football.
Defensive tackles aren’t supposed to upend non-padded practices where quarterbacks can’t be hit, and 11-on-11 snaps are limited. Just don’t tell Christian Barmore.
Barmore notched two would-be sacks of Jacoby Brissett during live team drills, once penetrating straight through the middle of the pocket and another cleaning up a teammate’s pressure. It should be noted Barmore faced an offensive line mostly composed of backups and replacement-level players, but the 24-year-old could not be stopped.
Note: The passing stats below were tallied during competitive 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 periods only.
Jacoby Brissett: 9-of-19, 4 sacks
Drake Maye: 6-of-10, 2 INTs, sack
Bailey Zappe: 4-of-8
Joe Milton: 1-of-4
Notes: All quarterbacks struggled in the tight red zone, an area of the field that favors the defense because of the limited space and added emphasis on timing. … During 11-on-11s, Brissett (3-of-10) was hardly much better than Maye, despite the rookie’s two interceptions. Brissett took four sacks and regularly held the ball for extended plays. Brissett also delivered the two best throws of practice: a rifled slant pass to Hunter Henry against tight coverage and a back-shoulder touchdown to running back JaMychal Hasty on a wheel route versus linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley. …. Maye settled often for checkdowns in team periods and ripped a nice out-route “touchdown” to JuJu Smith-Schuster during 7-on-7s. His only 11-on-11 completions were a running back screen and two checkdowns. His lone sack was the result of an unblocked blitzer coming untouched straight up the middle. … Zappe completed half his passes in 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s. His best throw was a back-line touchdown throw to K.J. Osborn over young cornerback Isaiah Bolden.
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