FOXBORO – To play him or not? That was the question that dominated Patriots supporters throughout the summer and early fall.

Play Drake Maye early in the season and you may risk him taking unnecessary punishment behind a patchwork offensive line. His confidence could also take a hit if his footwork and pre-snap diagnostic skills weren't NFL-ready.

Don't play with him or you might miss something. The team may wonder why. And the product may be less attractive.

The Patriots chose the latter because they believed they had a better chance to develop their young passer behind the scenes. And even though his rise to the starting lineup came quicker than team management imagined, they would still tell you watching him that he has indeed become a player.

🔊 Patriots Talk Podcast: Will the Patriots maintain urgency despite rebuilding in 2024? | Listen and Subscribe | Watch on YouTube

Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said the 22-year-old Maye was “completely different” than he was in Week 1 because of some things he’s learned since then.

“We had a quick start yesterday against our defense, good to good in the red zone,” Van Pelt explained Thursday. “I didn't give him an answer to the zero-blitz look that the defense presented, and he bailed himself out with the right protective adjustment and changeup and threw a touchdown.”

“For me it was, ‘Wow. Okay, he can come in there and protect himself. He knows the calls to make.' I don’t know if we would have been able to do that in Week 1.”

Veteran wideout Kendrick Bourne also took note of this training moment.

“It’s exciting,” Bourne said. “He has to act differently than we do as receivers. We don't have to worry about that. We must know our control and our adaptation. But his job is to see everything. He has to see the bigger picture.” . The fact that we can do this at a young age is definitely impressive. He gives us the best chance to get ourselves into the end zone.

“If he can locate where the lightning is coming from, it just helps him make the right decision. And if the move fails, his abilities also come into play. It's impressive that he can do that, and when it doesn't work out, it's impressive. If he can’t play clearly (on time), then he can get out and scramble, use his legs, use his talent, and that’s how that play worked yesterday.”

While Maye's blitz work has already impressed in both practice and game situations – he had a 92.1 rating in the blitz against the Texans last week – Maye explained Wednesday that his time as Brissett's backup helped him with another element of his preparation to understand -Snap process to a greater extent.

“I think the biggest thing is the run controls and the different looks that put us in the best run,” Maye said when asked what he can do now that he couldn’t have done in August. “I think that’s the biggest thing. Watching Jacoby (Brissett) do it, watching him do it, and hiring people to block the right people. I feel like that's something I've only really paid attention to.” Watch the film.

“I feel like I did almost everything that was asked in the run game and the proper execution. I think that was the biggest sigh of relief, seeing all the different running looks under center, seeing it and getting guys blocked. “I just have to keep doing that.”

There's also some prep work Maye was able to pick up during his time as the team's No. 2 guy. Van Pelt believes the understudy's time helped Maye develop into his starting role as a player de facto Leader.