Josh McDaniels hasn't coached Drake Maye on the football field yet, but the Patriots offensive coordinator already feels like most of New England when it comes to the young quarterback. 

"I'm smitten by the young man just in terms of his personality," McDaniels told reporters at Gillette Stadium on Thursday.

The Patriots made Maye the face of the franchise when they drafted him with the third overall pick a year ago, and he quickly won over New England fans during his rookie season with his play-making abilities and "aww shucks" demeanor. The sky is the limit for the 22-year-old, and McDaniels is excited to get to work with him for the foreseeable future.

McDaniels returned to New England this offseason for a third stint as the team's offensive coordinator, this time under new head coach Mike Vrabel. Getting a chance to coach Maye was a big part of McDaniels coming home again.

"We've had the opportunity to spend some time that has nothing to do with football with one another, which I think has been great. It's been very beneficial and productive to just get to know him," McDaniels said of Maye. 

McDaniels has gotten to know a bit about what makes Maye tick. They've also talked about their families and Maye's future wedding plans. 

"Next week and beyond will be super fun for me to get to know him from a football perspective and start teaching our teminology and language, seeing how he learns best and acclimates," said McDaniels. "But I couldn't be more excited about the young man that we have."

McDaniels and Maye will start talking football when the Patriots' offseason program gets started Monday, April 7. Voluntary minicamp is scheduled for April 22-24, while nine OTA sessions will be held in May and June leading up to mandatory minicamp, which will take place June 7-11.

Changing up the offensive language?

McDaniels will be Maye's second offensive coordinator in New England, after Alex Van Pelt had the job last season. With a new coordinator will come a new offense and a new language for Maye to get adjusted to, but McDaniels doesn't think it will be much of a challenge for the QB or the rest of the offense to overcome.

"This is always a popular question. We have a language and every offensive system, every defensive system has a language. You have to decide how you want to speak in regards to calling things and naming things," explained McDaniels. "Our language has been refined a little bit between last year and this spring with the coaches and it's been great to have their perspective on it."

McDaniels said he and his coaches have been working to streamlining the language, and he's pleased with how it has gone so far.

"What's most important is players can digest whatever we want to do. But there's a language part and a strategy park. The language is how you talk and the strategy is all about the players; what do we have, what are our strengths, and how to do we maximize the personnel on our team and on our offense? That part is going to be different, like it is every year," he said. 

McDaniels said that changing up the language can get overblown away from the field, but shouldn't be an issue when OTAs roll around in May.

"Sometimes that can get overblown because one word is apple, another is tomato, and it means one thing in one system and in another system it means something different. Like Men In Black, you take the device and wipe the memory clean," McDaniels joked. "It does take a little bit of time to acclimate. We've changed some things and I'm in the process of doing that too; what we used to call something, now we call it something else because we've agreed it's the best thing to do for the team. 

"We'll all be in the same boat and I'm sure we'll come up with a friendly fine system for when we use terms that don't mean anything to us now. There will be a period of adjustment but I don't think it will be a huge deal," he added.

McDaniels excited for New England's receiving corps

Maye's receiving corps received a big jolt this offseason when the Patriots signed veteran Stefon Diggs to a three-year deal. He joins Demario Douglas, Kendrick Bourne, Kayshon Boutte, Ja'Lynn Polk, Javon Baker, and newcomer Mack Hollins in the receivers room.

Patriots receivers were not a productive bunch last season, but McDaniels said everyone will start fresh in 2025. 

"I'm excited about all of those guys. Everybody has a clean slate," he said. "To me that is going to be an important message that I know coach [Vrabel] is going to give on Monday, and I'll echo that. It's best to refrain from making assessments on people before you get to talk to them and see them on the field and are running drills. 

"We have players who have a lot of ability and players who have a lot of experience," he added of the group. "Super excited to work with all of them."

McDaniels called Diggs a "unique individual and unique player," and said he has some insight on the veteran after his brother, Ben, coached him in Houston last season. He also has a receivers coach who is familiar with Diggs in Todd Downing, who was the tight ends coach for the Vikings in 2018 when Diggs was in Minnesota.

"I don't think there's a receiver that isn't an interesting character," said Downing, who added he had a great relationship with Diggs in Minnesota. "It's exciting to be back with him."

Diggs was in his fourth NFL season in 2018, and learned behind veterans like Adam Thielan, Kyle Rudolph, and Kirk Cousins. Downing believes Diggs will be a leader in New England.

"He's now in a position where he's fully ready to lead," said Downing. "It's extremely valuable. As a coach, you want someone to champion your message when you're not in the room. Stef is a guy who can do that, along with Mack and some of the other guys in the room."

McDaniels expresses confidence in offensive line

The Patriots could still use some more talent at receiver, but the most glaring need on the roster is along the offensive line. Left tackle remains a huge concern for New England, which the team could address in the upcoming NFL Draft. At the moment, Vederian Lowe and Caedan Wallace are the team's top options to protect Maye's blind side.

McDaniels said that group will also start the offseason program with a clean slate.

"I always start each year with a fresh perspective. I wasn't here last year. I know every player on our team is going to get a fresh start, and we're going to give everyone our best. Our job is to take the guys on the offense and make them better," he said. "I know our staff is excited to start doing that next week. We'll get to know them more as we go, but I'm confident in the guys we have working right now offensively on our staff that are preparing to teach these guys the things we want to do."