Callahan: The Patriots’ coaching slip-up, Drake Maye’s next step and more Week 12 thoughts

FOXBORO — Welcome to the Friday Five!

Each week during the NFL regular season, I will drop five Patriots-related thoughts on Friday to recap the week that was in Foxboro and look ahead to kickoff.

Ready, set, football.

1. He didn’t know?!

Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt took reporters behind the curtain Thursday, explaining how cornerback/returner Marcus Jones came to play offense last week against the Rams.

More than a week before kickoff, Jones texted Van Pelt offering his services as a ball carrier. Van Pelt then studied film of Jones’ run as a part-time rookie receiver in 2022, and agreed to involve him in the game plan against Los Angeles.

In the same press conference Thursday, Van Pelt made a troubling admission. Until Jones had texted, the Patriots’ offensive coordinator had no idea the 5-foot-8 dynamo had played offense as a rookie.

“That was the first (time) it had come to my attention that he had played offensive plays,” Van Pelt said.

Woof.

Now, it’s understandable Van Pelt, who has spent a lifetime in the NFL as a player and coach did not reach into the archives to study the Picasso playbook that Bill Belichick-Matt Patricia drew up that season. But it’s inexcusable that nine games into the season, an NFL offensive coordinator couldn’t discover one of the team’s best playmakers had once played offense.

How did this never come up during OTAs? Or training camp? Or the preseason? Or any time since Van Pelt was hired in New England?

Jerod Mayo was on that 2022 staff. So were assistant quarterbacks coach Evan Rothstein, wide receivers coach Tyler Hughes and ex-receivers coach and skills development coach Troy Brown. Even safeties coach Brian Belichick and cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino knew. Or anyone who covered that team.

Van Pelt’s admission now begs a different, more serious question about a Patriots team that has struggled to score points, often been poorly coached and lacked attention to detail: what else don’t they know?

2. Starting faster than you think

For the first half of this season, the Patriots started slowly. Like most aspects of their offense, that changed as soon as Drake Maye took over the starting quarterback job.

Dating back to Maye’s first start in Week 6, the Patriots’ first-quarter offense ranks fifth across by rushing Expected Points Added (EPA) and ninth by passing EPA per play. They’ve held leads after the first quarter in four of six games, thanks to touchdown drives on their second possessions versus the Rams and Jets, an opening-drive touchdown against the Jaguars and an early field goal at Chicago.

Credit for these faster starts is chiefly owed to better coaching and quarterback play.

3. Where’s improvement?

Pick an advanced metric, and you will find the Patriots defense near the bottom.

Success rate allowed: 23rd

EPA: 28th

DVOA: 30th

That marks a significant regression from last year and a small step back from six weeks ago, when the Pats ranked closer to average. Granted, they’ve lost players to injury (Ja’Whaun Bentley) and off-field transgressions (Jabrill Peppers). But where have they improved under new defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington?

On Thursday, Covington pointed to improved play on third downs. And statistically, he’s correct. Since ranking 31st, or second-to-last, by third-down conversion rate allowed after Week 4, the Pats have risen to a more respectable 19th on the season.

There’s just one problem: four of the Pats’ last five opponents all rank 27th or worse in third-down percentage. So did the Patriots rise up the rankings? Or get a little boost from their schedule?

4. Maye’s next step

For all the good Maye has done, as a quarterback, playmaker and burgeoning team leader, there is one area where he ranks as the worst in the league.

Turnovers.

Maye leads all starting quarterbacks in Pro Football Focus’ turnover-worthy play rate, a statistic that captures fumbles recovered by the offense and interceptions dropped by the defense, as well as official takeaways. Maye is risking a turnover on 5.2% of his dropbacks, meaning on more than one out of 20 plays the Patriots could lose possession.

Maye, who risked turnovers while trying to overcome a poor supporting cast during his last season at North Carolina, said he’s working on his discipline at the NFL level. He credited Jacoby Brissett’s example – Brissett has one interception in 159 pass attempts this season – as well as frequent reminders from Van Pelt and quarterbacks coach T.C. McCartney about when it’s best to throw the ball away versus forcing a downfield throw.

“I think they’re so great with so many different experiences of talking through, ‘Hey, this is what we do and this is what we want you to do,’ or, ‘This is probably the best thing for our football team at this standpoint,’ ” Maye said this week. “Jacoby’s great in-game reminding me, ‘Hey, it’s not bad here to think this.’ Or little things like that.”

5. Draft disappointment?

Akin to a year ago, when the Pats seemed destined to draft a quarterback in the first round, the front office figures to select a wide receiver or offensive tackle in the first round this April.

But will the 2025 draft class meet the Patriots’ needs?

This week, an ESPN mock draft sent Michigan cornerback Will Johnson to the Pats at No. 6 overall. Multiple wide receiver prospects, including two-way Colorado star Travis Hunter, went in the top five. This year’s offensive tackle class is also not seen as particularly strong. ESPN’s current draft rankings do not include an offensive tackle prospect in the top 10, which mirrors those at The Athletic.

From this view, the Patriots’ best-case scenario may be trading back to stockpile more selections in the top 100 and take multiple swings at multiple positions of need.