FOXBORO — Drake Maye is having an extremely promising start to his NFL career, but the Patriots quarterback is far from perfect, which is to be expected out of a rookie.

Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt was asked Thursday morning which areas he’d like to see Maye improve to become a more complete quarterback.

“I think his play-action pass has to improve, just the ball handling there, we’re not quite where we need to be to get the most out of it. So, that’s an area that we’ve targeted for improvement,” Van Pelt said.

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Maye ranks 23rd out of 36 qualified quarterbacks in PFF’s play-action passing grade with a 67.7 mark. He’s 17-of-23 for 97 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He’s taken two sacks under playaction and he’s scrambled five times.

His play-action play rate is 32nd at 18.9%, but the fact that the Patriots have been trailing and have an inefficient running game has been effecting Van Pelt’s playcalling.

“I think the other thing for Drake is we have plays set for different looks, and then being able to respond and react if it isn’t the look that we’re game planning against and knowing where to go with the ball,” Van Pelt continued. “Those are the two biggest things — ball security, for sure. That was a tough one. The strip-sack fumble, that was a tough one. He was getting ready to throw it. So, that’s going to happen, but got to take care of the football. That’s the No. 1 goal every week is to come away with no giveaways for them. So if we can keep improving there, we’ll be better.”

Maye has been intercepted four times this season and fumbled three times.

PFF has charted him with nine turnover-worthy plays and a 5.3% turnover-worthy play rate, which is highest in the NFL among qualified QBs.

That should drop as Maye continues to gain more experience.

“One of his qualities is not being a repeat offender,” Van Pelt said. “He’s a very intelligent guy. He learns from his mistakes and you rarely see him make them twice.”

Maye and the Patriots take on fellow rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick, and the Bears on Sunday in Chicago. Maye compares favorably to Williams so far this season despite having a worse supporting class around him.