Drake Maye looked a bit overwhelmed in New England's Week 1 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, leaving many to wonder if the Patriots second-year quarterback has too much on his plate. Maye pushed back at that notion Wednesday, and so did offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels on Thursday. 

McDaniels admitted Maye has a lot on his plate, but he doesn't believe it's too much for the 23-year-old. And while some fans are having doubts about Maye's progression early in his career, McDaniels expressed confidence the Patriots have the guy at the most important position on the field.

"The biggest challenge for me is he's a young quarterback and he's learning through all these experiences. He's the right guy," McDaniels said Thursday. "We're going to have an opportunity to grow and continue to get better."

Sunday's Week 2 clash with the Dolphins in Miami will be just the 14th start for Maye in his career. McDaniels was asked the biggest areas Maye needs to improve if he wants to take his game to the next level, but the offensive coordinator didn't want to pinpoint anything in particular.

It's no secret there's a lot Maye can improve on, but McDaniels is confident he's going to put it all together. It will just take some time, given his young age, inexperience, and all the intricacies that go with playing quarterback in the NFL.

"I'm the global view with him as quarterback. Quarterback is a really difficult position to play. There are a million things you do every day between every play," said McDaniels. "All kinds of things; pocket movement, play-faking, handling pressures, seeing defenses. There can't be one or two things. I'll never boil it down to that because it would be doing them a disservice. We have a lot of work that needs to get done every day."

Does Drake Maye have too much on his plate?

On Wednesday, Maye didn't refute the idea he has a lot to digest in his first full season as an NFL starting quarterback. But it goes with the job, and Maye doesn't mind having a lot on his shoulders.

"You're playing quarterback for one of 32 teams. It's a lot, and it's something I don't take for granted," Maye said Wednesday. "What a special position it is in this league. There's a lot of good that comes with it, and there's a lot of stuff that's on your plate, and that's just part of it. 

"I try to do whatever I can to study as much as I can, hear the play calls and study the formations before [McDaniels] calls them," Maye added. "Like I said, there's a lot of things that go into it. Being accurate, play calling, getting in and out of plays, so just trying to, like I said, get a good grip on it. The more we do that throughout the weeks and as the season goes on, the better I'll feel in this offense."

McDaniels admitted that he and the offensive staff have been giving Maye a lot to take in and digest throughout the summer and into the season, but it's nothing the quarterback can't handle. The team also understands it's going to take some time for Maye to get a firm grasp of a new offensive system.

"I think we have to understand it's his first game in our system. I think we've all learned a lot from each experience we've had. Every practice, every joint practice, the preseason games -- the little we were able to work together -- and the first full game," McDaniels said Thursday.

"I thought he made a lot of good plays and a lot of good decisions," McDaniels said of Maye's Week 1 performance, when the QB passed for a career-high 287 yards to go with a touchdown and an interception. "But I'm focused on the process of him getting better every day. The view of it is, it has to be a long-term vision of where this guy is going to be. He's going to be a really good player. There are things that happen in every game, especially at that position, that aren't going to be perfect. It's really hard to play a perfect game at that spot, let alone any spot."