FOXBORO — Drake Maye did the simple things well.

Hit checkdowns. Found release valves against pressure. Protected the ball.

Maye looked like a seasoned backup at Monday’s mandatory minicamp practice, both by virtue of the fact he again took all of the reps immediately after Jacoby Brissett and his performance. Maye completed 75% of his passes in team periods, including a 12-of-17 showing with two sacks during 11-on-11s. He led a couple two-minute drills, neither of which generated points, on a day when the Patriots’ defense allowed a single field goal against seven such drives.

For a 21-year-old rookie who spent just three seasons in college, this is a fine spot to be.

Not great, not good. Solid. A touch above average.

Maye still has three months to win the starting job, assuming the Patriots deem they’re able to support him as soon as Week 1. Considering they have two starting offensive line spots in flux, and one of the NFL’s worst receiving corps, that decision may never come. Brissett is here to serve as a bridge and a lightning rod, making the starts and taking the hits until Maye is ready.

But June is not the time for starting declarations. It’s about progress. Maye has made progress the past six weeks, both in his practice stats and to the naked eye, as well as in the eyes of his teammates.

Elsewhere at Patriots practice, Matt Judon returned, a defensive lineman sat out team drills, one quarterback tossed a pick-six, young receivers made tight red-zone catches and the O-line continued to shuffle around.

Here are the Herald’s complete practice observations.

Attendance

Absent: OLB Josh Uche, LB Sione Takitaki

Absent (known injury): WR Kendrick Bourne, LB Jahlani Tavai, OL Cole Strange

Limited: DL Davon Godchaux, CB Marcus Jones, WR Javon Baker, CB Marcellas Dial, RB Terrell Jennings, CB Kaleb Ford-Dement

Defensive lineman Davon Godchaux of the New England Patriots looks on during training camp at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald)

Notes: After missing all three voluntary OTA practices open to the media, Godchaux took the field in a helmet and sweats Monday. He did not participate in stretching or team drills and stood to the side during positional work. It’s unclear whether Godchaux is dealing with an injury, working his way back into shape or holding in for contract-related reasons. … Uche, who re-signed on a 1-year deal this spring, was absent for unknown reasons. … Baker, Dial, Jennings and Ford-Dement all worked separately on a lower field often reserved for conditioning. … Bourne, Tavai, Strange and Takitaki were all present in street clothes.

Play of the Day

La’Michael Pettway wrestles a TD away

During the Patriots’ initial 11-on-11 period, Maye dropped back in the high red zone. He spotted pressure, and tossed up a high-arching, 25-yard prayer to his left. A fourth-string, undersized tight end answered that prayer.

Working 1-on-1 against safety Jaylinn Hawkins, the 6-foot-2 Pettway faded toward the back left corner of the end zone, stopped to high-point the ball and seized it with both hands. Hawkins, though, wasn’t going to the ground without a fight, and the two wrestled in the end zone for possession. Eventually, Pettway ripped it away and stood up, holding the ball high over his head.

Touchdown.

Player of the Day

Patriots safety Kyle Dugger, shown during training camp in August, is suffering from an ankle injury and missed practice Wednesday. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

S Kyle Dugger

Were it not for Pettway’s spectacular grab, Dugger would have run away with this honor and Play of the Day.

Alas, he’ll have to settle for Player of the Day and a pick-six that killed Bailey Zappe’s initial two-minute drill on the spot. On the first play of the drive, Dugger read Zappe’s eyes from the low middle of the field jumped a pass intended for a tight end running a curl route. Like everyone else, that tight end turned instantly into a spectator as Dugger raced back celebrating his would-be touchdown.

QB Corner

Note: The passing stats below were tallied during competitive 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 periods only. Stats in parentheses reflect performance in full-team, 11-on-11 drills.

Jacoby Brissett: 14-of-25, sack, 2 drops (8-of-15, sack, 2 drops)

Drake Maye: 18-of-24, 2 sacks, drop (12-of-17, 2 sacks)

Bailey Zappe: 6-of-11, INT, sack (1-of-4, INT, sack)

Joe Milton: 3-of-5, sack (3-of-5, sack)

New England Patriots quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye during practice at Gillette Stadium. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)

Notes: Largely, the longer practice wore on, the worse it got for the quarterbacks. Brissett started 8-of-10 across a period each of 11-on-11s and 7-on-7s. He ripped a tight red-zone touchdown pass between two defenders to DeMario Douglas in the opening drill, when Maye went 4-of-5 with a long scramble up the middle and Pettway’s jump-ball touchdown. Pettway then, running a deep cross, dropped a pass Maye layered perfectly over tight coverage that dropped the rookie to a 7-of-9 start.

Next, during a 7-on-7 red zone period, Brissett misfired twice to Tyquan Thornton and veteran tight end Austin Hooper around completions to Thornton and second-round rookie Ja’Lynn Polk, who beat Christian Gonzalez for a touchdown. Brissett’s 2-of-6 showing paled compared to a perfect 3-of-3 for Maye, who then rifled his own touchdown between defenders, finding fellow rookie Jaheim Bell along the back line. Zappe got his first reps in this stretch and capped his three snaps with another touchdown to Polk.

In the two-minute drills, Brissett (1-of-4, sack) turned the ball over on downs, no thanks to a couple pass breakups and a Douglas drop. Maye (5-of-7, sack) took eight snaps over his initial two-minute, but similarly ended on a sack after two shallow-cross completions, a couple short passes to running back Antonio Gibson, in-cut connection with JuJu Smith-Schuster and deep incompletions. Zappe was one-and-done on his pick, which allowed Milton to get a shot. He went 3-of-6, also with a sack, and Bell finished as the only pass-catcher with multiple catches.

Patriots minicamp: 13 players to watch in mandatory practices

Over the final two-minute drill period, Brissett hit three different receivers, had another pass broken up and handed off to Rhamondre Stevenson to bring the offense roughly 30 yards and into field goal range. Maye lasted five snaps, hitting a checkdown, another shallow cross and Smith-Schuster up the seam with no time left. Smith-Schuster would have either been hit at the time the ball arrived or tackled inbounds, which killed that drive. Smith-Schuster was also the intended target on a pass breakup for Isaiah Bolden. Zappe closed by going 1-of-3 with a sack and bad overthrow up the seam.

Studs

S Jabrill Peppers

Peppers knocked one pass away and didn’t allow a catch on the other target he saw during team drills. Between him and Dugger, the safety position is guaranteed to remain a strength of this defense.

WR Jalen Reagor

Reagor won on a variety of routes and tied for the most catches in team drills with five. He caught three from Maye and two from Brissett. His connection with Maye bears watching.

Duds

QB Bailey Zappe

New England Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe during practice at Gillette Stadium. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)

More pick-sixes, and Zappe will be the odd man out in the quarterbacks room regardless of how Joe Milton does or doesn’t develop.

CB Christian Gonzalez

A victim of the high standard he created for himself, Gonzalez allowed four catches on five targets; far from numbers fit for a No. 1 corner. At least on the other target, he earned a pass breakup.

Offensive notes

Top targets in team drills: RB JaMychal Hasty 5/7, WR Jalen Reagor 5/6, TE Hunter Henry 4/6, WR JuJu Smith-Schuster 4/5, TE Jaheim Bell 4/5, WR Tyquan Thornton 2/5
Drops: WR DeMario Douglas, TE La’Michael Pettway, Thornton
Osborn and Tyquan Thornton repped regularly with Jacoby Brissett and other projected offensive starters. Neither did much with their snaps, though, combining for three catches and Thornton’s drop.
Behind them, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Jalen Reagor worked most often with Drake Maye, as did Kayshon Boutte. Maye and Reagor established an early connection, before Maye leaned on Smith-Schuster late and found his tight ends in between, including a fellow rookie in Bell.
Second-round rookie wideout Ja’Lynn Polk caught one pass from each quarterback in team drills, including touchdowns thrown by Brissett and Bailey Zappe during 7-on-7s. He beat Christian Gonzalez on an out route for the first score, then found space over the middle versus the third-string defense.
Hasty was a common checkdown target for both Maye and Zappe. His pass-catching skills are a notch above third-year back Kevin Harris, a power runner who figures to again be in a position battle this summer.
Quiet day for Rhamondre Stevenson, who made waves after practice saying he believes he’s close to signing a contract extension.
Antonio Gibson caught both passes thrown his way in team periods. Maye found him for a checkdown to start a 2-minute drill, then returned to him for a short gain with the clock winding down.
Hunter Henry was reliable, per usual, though both of his incomplete targets were the result of pass breakups; a sign of iffy separation.

How Patriots new offensive install is progressing early in minicamp

Along the offensive line, the Patriots rotated at right tackle with their top group. Mike Onwenu started multiple 11-on-11 periods at his regular spot, then slid inside to right guard, replacing Nick Leverett, to give third-round rookie Caedan Wallace time with the top group.
Wallace continues to rep at right tackle, his old college position, instead of left tackle, where he was projected to compete with Chukwuma Okorafor for the starting job.
As of today, the Patriots’ projected starting offensive line for Week 1 would be: Okorafor, left guard Sidy Sow, center David Andrews, Leverett and Onwenu.
Leverett also took backup snaps at center, as did second-year guard Atonio Mafi. Both snapped to Maye, and a couple of Mafi’s snaps were slightly off-target, though nothing too problematic.
Maye’s offensive line was, from left to right: Calvin Anderson, Michael Jordan, Mafi/Leverett, Layden Robinson and Wallace.
Jordan, a backup guard on the wrong side of the roster bubble, was ejected late in practice for getting into a post-play tussle with defensive lineman Trysten Hill.
The offense got whistled twice for false starts by an on-hand officiating crew, but the offending players were not announced.

Defensive notes

(060722 Foxboro, MA): Matthew Judon on the field during New England Patriots mini camp at Gillette Stadium on Tuesday,June 7, 2022 in Foxboro, MA. (Staff Photo By Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

Starting and second-string personnel during team periods: defensive linemen Christian Barmore, Deatrich Wise, Keion White, Armon Watts, Daniel Ekulake Trysten Hill and Jeremiah Pharms Jr.; linebackers Matt Judon, Ja’Whaun Bentley, Raekwon McMillan, Christian Elliss, Joe Giles-Harris, William Bradley-King, Oshane Ximines; defensive backs Kyle Dugger, Jabrill Peppers, Marte Mapu, Christian Gonzalez, Marco Wilson, Alex Austin, Jaylinn Hawkins, Azizi Hearn, Isaiah Bolden, Joshuah Bledsoe, Mikey Victor and Marco Wilson
Interceptions: S Kyle Dugger
Pass breakups: CB Christian Gonzalez, S Jabrill Peppers, S/LB Marte Mapu, CB Isaiah Bolden, CB Azizi Hearn, S Brenden Schooler
Would-be sacks: Team 3, LB Ja’Whaun Bentley, DL Armon Watts, OLB Oshane Ximines
Welcome back, Matt Judon! Unlike Davon Godchaux, a fellow practice returnee, Judon participated in positional drills and team periods. He did not flash in team drills, but the staff rotated players up front throughout team periods.
Jonathan Jones sat out most, if not all, team drills. The veteran cornerback was replaced by several young corners opposite Christian Gonzalez: Marco Wilson, Isaiah Bolden and Alex Austin, to name a few. Wilson was first up from that group.
Gonzalez’s four allowed catches came against a variet of routes: a shallow cross, out route, comeback and scramble-drill. No cause for concern just yet, though it’s important to remember he’s yet to play a fifth NFL game in his career.
The Patriots drilled several exotic looks and third-down calls designed to pressure and/or confuse the offense. They did have some personnel absences to work around, though; notably Jones, Marcus Jones, Josh Uche and linebacker Sione Takitaki.
Their combined returns would transform the defense’s projected third-down lineup that will also likely include defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale, who tore his bicep last season but participated Monday.
How about Week 1 projected starters? The bet here would be defensive linemen Deatrich Wise, Christian Barmore and Godchaux, Judon, Bentley and Takitaki, Gonzalez, Dugger, Peppers, Jonathan Jones and Marte Mapu or Marcus Jones as the 11th player.
Keion White, a 2023 second-rounder, should also be knocking on that door and repped with the first defensive line in team periods Monday.
Another 2023 draft pick, Bolden, impressed. He allowed one catch on three targets and had a pass breakup. His deflection came at the expense of Smith-Schuster.

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Special teams

Second-year kicker Chad Ryland went 5-of-6 on field goal attempts, with a long of around 45 yards and a miss inside of 40.
Veteran challenger Joey Slye finished 2-of-3, including a make and miss in the neighborhood of 48 yards.
Top returners: DB Marcus Jones, WR DeMario Douglas, WR Ja’Lynn Polk, WR Jalen Reagor

Extra points

The Patriots hired referees to officiate the team periods of Monday’s practice.
Ex-Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman watched from the sidelines, and is expected to be among the 100-plus former players in attendance for Tom Brady’s retirement ceremony on Wednesday.
Jacoby Brissett, Rhamondre Stevenson, Hunter Henry, David Andrews, Antonio Gibson and Isaiah Bolden addressed reporters after practice.