Sunday Patriots Notes: Virtual reality being used to help Drake Maye’s development

Phase 3 of the offseason rolls on for the New England Patriots as they are set to enter the final week of OTA’s.

Before all the attention turns back to the practice fields for Week 3, let’s clean out the notebook with our Sunday Patriots Notes.

1. Virtual reality: There are only so many reps available for quarterbacks on the practice fields in today’s NFL, specifically in New England with four QB’s on the roster. But, what if there was a way to get more experience off the practice field?

When it comes to developing the 21-year old Drake Maye, that’s exactly what the Patriots have been doing.

“It’s a case-by-case basis, but I would also say, it’s not only what is done out here on the football field,” head coach Jerod Mayo said this week. “I know that when we talk about meetings, we usually talk about sitting at a desk and taking notes, but we have spaces inside the building where you can actually go out there and get real-life looks at the defenses and go through the calls with coaches, so he’ll get his reps.”

Those spaces throughout Gillette Stadium consist of technology that includes virtual reality, which allows Maye to diagnose defenses post- and pre-snap as he works on the mental side of his game.

It’s become more common throughout the football landscape, as LSU’s director of performance innovation Jack Marucci shared VR played a key role in Jayden Daniels’ Heisman-winning season.

According to Marucci, Daniels was able to log more than 250 additional snaps per week off the field while he could adjust to opponents stadiums, coverages, pressure schemes and more. The QB was basically able to “play the game before the game.”

“He became so fast, because we had an eye scanner — we could see what he was looking at,” Marucci said on the MoveTheSticks podcast. “His progressions were just improving every week. His stare down time wasn’t nearly as long. He wasn’t staring down a DB, wasn’t staring down at the receiver. And those are objective pieces that we could achieve.

“[Jayden] said to me after the season… [he saw the field] 75 to 80 percent [better]. It changed the way he saw it.”

Now in Foxboro, Maye is stealing his own additional reps in a similar fashion.

“The virtual stuff is great and that’s another way that you can steal some of those reps without being on the football field,” Mayo said. “And absolutely, we’re interested in that type of technology, we have rooms in the building that have some of that technology. Obviously, technology changes every single day. We’re looking for the best thing.”

Time will ultimately tell if the VR work has a similar affect on Maye as it did for Daniels. But, New England will continue to exhaust all options to support what they believe is the future of their franchise.

“Just throw every level of support that we possibly can at the quarterbacks,” executive Vice President of player personnel Eliot Wolf said on the Up and Adams Show. “Whether it’s coaching, something off the field, virtual reality, whatever the case may be. Really having the willingness to support whoever the quarterback is in every facet that we possibly can.”

2. White’s rise: Part of the reason the Patriots only added one defensive player in the NFL Draft was due to the expectation that players entering year two and three would take a leap forward. That includes second-year defensive lineman Keion White, who has been one of the biggest surprises throughout the spring so far.

“Keion is doing a good job for us and I’d say also, Keion has kind of taken that step forward as far as being a leader. Not as much vocally, but you see him actually leading the groups and working well, so if you need a name, that is a good one,” Mayo shared.

“His versatility, he’s always been a strong guy but I would say he is even stronger now and he is doing a good job,” he added. “He is here each and every day, and in the meeting rooms, he is actually kind of talking and leading those conversations, which I think is important. And we always talk about that Year 2 jump, that’s the biggest jump you’re going to have.”

3. One regret: The one defensive player that was drafted was cornerback Marcellas Dial, who New England selected in the sixth-round. While the team’s needs were rightfully centered on offense, Wolf noted the lack of defensive additions in the draft may be his biggest regret.

“My one regret, particularly with the draft, we had eight draft picks, we only drafted one defensive player,” he said on the Up & Adams Show. “I apologized to coach [DeMarcus] Covington about that. Obviously, he wanted what was best for the team, too. That’s really one regret I’ve had so far. We’ll see how it goes as we get ahead here.”

4. Honeymoon phase: Mayo and Wolf have worked together in Foxboro for the last four seasons. Their previous relationship has made it easier to take over key roles held by the legendary Bill Belichick, and they believe it will continue to help when they eventually face adversity in the regular season.

“We have been working behind the scenes for a while now. He is one of those guys where we both believe in collaboration and working together,” Mayo said. “Now look, once again, we are 0-0, so there will be a time where we probably won’t see things the same. But, at the same time, I think we can work through it. Excited to work with him.”

“It’s been too good to be true too so far. He and I have joked like obviously this is the honeymoon phase,” Wolf added on the Up and Adams Show. “We haven’t really dealt with any adversity, we haven’t lost any games.

“But as we move forward we know those conversations, those hard conversations, are going to come up, I think there’s a a huge level of mutual respect between us and I feel like we’ll be able to navigate those things as they come.”

5. Gibson’s value: After a flurry of high profile moves on the offensive side of the ball during the NFL Draft, free agent signing Antonio Gibson, the team’s first external addition in the legal tampering period, may be flying under the radar. During the team’s first OTA, Gibson’s speed and wide receiver background stood out, as it did last season where he was the most productive back in terms of EPA/play on passes that traveled over five air yards .

It’s a skillset the team will likely look to maximize, as Jerome Ford, who played in Van Pelt’s offense last season, ranked fourth.

6. Open communication: The Patriots new special teams staff is headed by first-year coordinator Jeremy Springer, who’s joined by assistant Tom Quinn. Throughout the early parts of the offseason, the communication with the staff has stood out to players.

“It’s just nice to have a lot of good input, and I’m not saying anything about last year vs. this year, but I can come to him with anything,” punter Bryce Baringer said. “We’ll talk about it, we’ll work on it. In my opinion, the lines of communication are very open. He knows what I’m trying to look for and work on. I know what he wants me to try and work on.

“At this position, people can say it’s very monotonous but there’s definitely more that one way to get the results that you want. So, that’s what we’re really trying to strive for.”

7. Kickoff approach: Perhaps Springer and Quinn’s biggest challenge will be adapting to the NFL’s new kickoff rule. Springer is expecting a trail by error sort of approach throughout the preseason and even into the regular season.

“It’s like all brand new,” Springer said. “So everything we do now from now on to preseason, it’s going to be like, all right, I didn’t really think about that because you just don’t have a foundation to go back and look at it. Because even if you look at the UFL, the rules are a little different in terms of where the ball lands, what you can do, just different types of things you can do, even the [40- to the 35-yard line] that’s just different. So you just really don’t have a ground to look at, you just got to figure it out.”

Springer, however, is looking forward to the challenge ahead.

“It’s fun,” he said. “A lot of questions like ‘Does this really work?’, but it’s like, hey, you’re gonna make mistakes, you’re gonna make mistakes and it’s OK. Like learn mistakes, learn from it right now so you can get better. So in Week 1 you can take away from those mistakes and play strong and play fast.”

8. Meetings change: Plenty has changed around Gillette Stadium since Mayo took over as ahead coach. Besides new artwork and murals around the facility, meetings have been shortened to provide mental breaks and hopefully increase productivity.

“Mayo has a new philosophy on meetings, too,” Jeff Howe of The Athletic wrote. “Gone are the marathon sessions. Now, the Patriots conduct 25-minute mental sprints before taking five-minute breaks. It’s a way to heighten the pace while giving the coaches and players a quick chance to relax before getting back after it.”

9. Dungy’s visit: During the first week of OTA’s, the Patriots had a rather surprising guest visit and address the team: former Colts head coach Tony Dungy. It was part of Mayo wanting to have conversations with people “outside of this silo,” with Dungy’s coaching style standing out to the first-time head coach.

“I have always been a fan of Tony Dungy, even though the Patriots and the Colts have a little history. But from afar, [he’s] just a guy who has won games, like big games as a championship-level coach,” Mayo shared. “He does it the right way. It’s not through cussing people out, or anything like that, which that works, I guess, with some teams as well, but it’s through developing men and women. I kind of want to mirror that.”

10. Setting up the week ahead: The Patriots will be back in the facility for their final week of OTA’s, which is currently scheduled to conclude with four practice sessions. Media is set to be in attendance during Tuesday’s session.