FOXBORO – The Drake Maye who impressed behind center against the Houston Texans is not the same Maye that entered the season as Jacoby Brissett’s backup.

That’s how Alex Van Pelt sees it, at least.

Asked Thursday how Maye has changed since Week 1, the Patriots offensive coordinator said the rookie quarterback is “different — completely different.”

Van Pelt pointed to an example from Wednesday’s practice that illustrated Maye’s growth.

“We had a period yesterday, another start-fast period against our defense, good-on-good in the red zone,” the coach explained. “I didn’t give him an answer for a zero-blitz look that the defense presented, and he got himself out of trouble with the right protection adjustment and the route change and threw a touchdown.

“So to me — wow. He can get in there and he can protect himself. He knows the calls he needs to make. I don’t know if we’d have gotten that done in Week 1.”

Van Pelt raved about Maye’s mental preparation and study habits, which he said were helped by his opportunity to sit behind the veteran Brissett for the first five weeks of the season. Maye made his first NFL start last Sunday against Houston, going 20-for-33 for 243 yards — the most by a Patriots QB this season — and three touchdowns with two interceptions in a 41-21 loss.

“He’s very natural. He’s a natural leader. He’s a great studier,” Van Pelt said. “Very intelligent guy that can ask great questions in the meeting rooms. He’s everything you want in a young quarterback. I think sitting and watching the preparation of Jacoby for the first five weeks is a big piece of that, seeing how the quarterback operates at the pro level, the questions that need to be asked, the concerns, the comments throughout the week. I think that just built up his inventory of how to go through meetings and ask the questions that he needs to get answered.

“But very impressive with his approach. He studies hard at night; you can tell that. When you call a new play in a Wednesday practice, he’s already digested the verbiage and can spit it out easily, so I know he’s putting the work in. I get texts throughout the course of the evening on certain looks — ‘What’s this mean here when they do this?’ or ‘What do I need to do in this look?’ So I know he’s putting the time in.”

Maye appeared on Wednesday’s injury report with a knee issue, but he was a full participant in practice. Van Pelt said he’s “not concerned” and that he doesn’t expect the injury to impact Maye’s availability for Sunday’s matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.