Drake Maye Gives Patriots a Problem vs. ‘Lowest-Hanging Fruit’

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By Fantasy Roundup · August 29, 2025 · Updated October 12, 2026

The New England Patriots and Drake Maye have a problem, one that shows up against the “lowest-hanging fruit” in the NFL. Maye is supposed to be a franchise quarterback in the making, but the second-year pro’s weakness is actually the two most elementary coverages in football. It’s an issue explained by John Kosko of Pro Football Focus. He outlined how “rookies always struggle in some form, but arguably the lowest-hanging fruit in terms of a weakness for Maye in 2024 was his play against single-high coverages (Cover 1 and 3). Cover 1 is a man coverage with a single free safety, and Cover 3 is a zone coverage typically with one deep free safety and two cornerbacks deep, each covering a third of the field.” Kosko continued, “Maye’s 56.5 PFF passing grade against single-high coverages ranked fifth worst in the NFL. While his play against two-high wasn’t exactly stellar, his 69.0 PFF passing grade on such plays still ranked 19th out 40 qualifiers.” Those aren’t the type of numbers new head coach Mike Vrabel and returning offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels can allow to become a trend. Maye has too much arm talent and natural athleticism to make it easy for defenses to stop him. Fortunately, things can improve thanks to a different scheme and an improved supporting cast.