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New England Patriots QB Drake Maye double down on his support for head coach Mike Vrabel
The New England Patriots enter training camp with one of the NFL’s best young quarterbacks and a growing list of reasons to believe their offense can take another step.
A new statisical chart offers another.
Jacob Fortgang of Pro Football Focus charted how quarterbacks performed when pressure arrived quickly enough to force them off their initial read.
Drake Maye produced the highest expected points added figure among the 37 qualifying quarterbacks shown, finishing ahead of Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen.
The chart presents an encouraging picture of Maye’s ability to survive a broken play.
However, a separate Patriots.com breakdown identified Cover 6 and Cover 0 as the two defensive structures that caused Maye the most problems last season.
Together, it’s evident that he needs to turn his ability after the snap into greater control before it.
Maye Stands Out When Pressure Disrupts the Play
GettyFOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – JANUARY 11: Drake Maye #10 of the New England Patriots passes the ball under pressure from Otito Ogbonnia #93, Tuli Tuipulotu #45 and Daiyan Henley #0 of the Los Angeles Chargers during the first quarter of the AFC Wild Card Playoff game at Gillette Stadium on January 11, 2026 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Fortgang described “disruption pressure” as pressure that forces a quarterback away from his first read.
His chart required at least 250 dropbacks and compared how frequently that pressure occurred with each quarterback’s EPA on those plays.
Maye’s disruption pressure rate sat slightly below the chart’s league-average mark of 18.2%, but no qualifying quarterback generated better EPA after the pressure knocked him off schedule.
ESPN’s NFL Live panel supported Maye’s rise by stating the Patriots are a playoff team as long as he’s on the field.
That matters because pressure was already one of the central questions surrounding Maye early in his career. He took 47 sacks during the 2025 regular season after taking 34 as a rookie.
The new data adds context to those totals.
Maye could reset, create outside the original structure and still give New England a chance to gain ground.
His arm strength and mobility allowed him to turn hurried situations into productive plays more effectively than any other quarterback in Fortgang’s sample.
That ability helped Maye finish second in MVP voting while leading the NFL in total QBR, EPA, completion percentage over expectation, completion percentage, yards per attempt and passer rating.
Defenses still found more specific ways to slow him.
Cover 0 and Cover 6 Create Maye’s Key Challenge
GettySANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 08: Drake Maye #10 of the New England Patriots escapes pressure from the Seattle Seahawks during the fourth quarter in Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium on February 08, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Patriots.com’s Evan Lazar reported that Maye’s two least efficient coverages were Cover 6 and Cover 0.
He averaged minus-0.31 EPA per play against Cover 6 and minus-0.18 against Cover 0.
Cover 0 may bring an all-out blitz with no deep safety, forcing the quarterback to locate an answer immediately.
Cover 6 combines quarters coverage on one side with Cover 2 on the other, asking the quarterback to process different rules across the field.
The issue became more pronounced during New England’s playoff run.
Maye’s EPA per dropback dropped from a league-leading plus-0.31 during the regular season to minus-0.27 in the postseason as the Patriots faced the Chargers, Texans, Broncos and Seahawks.
Seattle leaned heavily on Cover 6 in the Super Bowl, using the coverage on 22 snaps while mixing in defensive-back blitzes. This approach that contributed to the offensive problems that followed New England through the postseason, per a Patriots.com film review.
The Patriots began addressing that area during spring practices.
Coaches occasionally sent Maye to the line without a play call, allowing him to make the call and adjustments himself.
Viewed in full, another season in Josh McDaniels’ system should give him a stronger command of those decisions.
Pressure alone may no longer provide defenses with a reliable answer against Maye.
Disguising the coverage and changing the picture around that pressure will endure as the blueprint until he proves otherwise.
Duncan Day is a sports contributor for Heavy. He has covered NFL, NBA, hockey and soccer for various outlets, including NBC Sports, Boston.com, USA TODAY, Forbes, Bleacher Report, The Dallas Morning News and more. More about Duncan Day
