Former New England Patriots safety Duron Harmon believes that offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt is the perfect coach for rookie quarterback Drake Maye. Harmon, who played for the Cleveland Browns when Van Pelt was the OC, praised his organizational skills on the “Eye on Foxborough” podcast, as reported by Karen Guregian of MassLive.
Harmon noted, “He was very well organized. They had a plan and you could see how the plan would formulate at the beginning of the week and, you know, throughout the week. He did a good job of getting the guys ready.”
The Patriots hired Van Pelt in February, followed by signing veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett in March. Brissett, who made 11 starts under Van Pelt’s guidance in Cleveland during the 2022 season, currently seems to have an edge over Maye in the competition for New England’s starting quarterback position, which is expected to continue through at least part of the preseason.
Last week, New England made headlines by signing running back Rhamondre Stevenson to a four-year, $36M contract extension with $17M fully guaranteed. Mike Reiss of ESPN reported on June 20 that Van Pelt plans to incorporate wide-zone runs, which Stevenson has been studying this offseason.
Van Pelt aims to use Stevenson and free-agent signing Antonio Gibson to ease the workload for either Brissett or Maye come September. Harmon added, “They’re gonna run that football, and, you know, any time you have a younger quarterback like Drake Maye, you always want to give him the keys to be able to run the football so that when it’s his time to throw the ball, it’s not as much pressure.”
As of early this week, it was suggested that “the Patriots would be fine seeing what Maye can do over a 17-game season” if he proves to be the best quarterback during the preseason.
