Josh McDaniels has the tools and traits to make Patriots’ Drake Maye a star

There are many things in sports, and in life for that matter, that simply go great together. Frankly, Josh McDaniels and the Patriots are one of those things, and Drake Maye should be sending Mike Vrabel an unlimited gas card for bringing back McDaniels for his third stint with the team.

Maye is the biggest beneficiary of McDaniels’ return to New England. The poor kid operated an offense with limited weapons and vanilla play-calling last season. Ever since McDaniels left after the 2021 season to become the Raiders’ head coach, the Patriots’ offense has regressed under the watch of Matt Patricia, Bill O’Brien, and Alex Van Pelt.

The offseason hasn’t fully started yet, but there are already rumblings around the NFL landscape that Maye will take big shifts in his second year under McDaniels’ watch. Most rookie quarterbacks tend to hit a “sophomore slump” in Year Two, but Patriots fans should be optimistic that won’t happen with Maye under McDaniels’ leadership for a few reasons.

Drake Maye will be ultimate beneficiary of Josh McDaniels’ return to New England

For one, the offense will have a much different vibe.

Remember Mac Jones’ rookie season when the Patriots ranked sixth in the league in scoring offense? Maye has far more athleticism, awareness, and arm strength than Jones does, so imagine what McDaniels’ schemes will do for Maye’s game.

Vrabel is a defensive-minded head coach, and bringing back McDaniels was the obvious answer from when Vrabel was hired. You have to wonder how much McDaniels will utilize Maye’s ability to use his legs. McDaniels found ways to utilize Cam Newton’s strengths in 2020 with Newton on the back nine of his career.

McDaniels also has a no-nonsense approach.

While most Patriots’ fans may argue that McDaniels’ return doesn’t shift the organization away from the Tom Brady era, McDaniels, like Vrabel, won’t put up with the nonsense that went down in New England’s locker room last season.

Fortunately, Maye was one of the only Patriots in the room who consistently took accountability, so Maye will be an easy guy for McDaniels to coach and vice-versa. That’s undoubtedly a key element in a quarterback’s development.

Read More: Drake Maye finally breaks silence over Patriots re-hiring Josh McDaniels

Lastly, McDaniels is very creative.

To succeed in the modern NFL, you can’t be afraid to get creative and use your athletes. The days of “three yards and a cloud of dust” are long gone. Will the Patriots bring back fullback looks? Jet sweeps to athletes like DeMario Douglas? That remains to be seen.

But McDaniels will find the combination of his offensive wizardry and Maye’s obvious talents to kickstart an otherwise mundane offense.