Drake Maye is making his voice heard in Year 2, and the Patriots are listening

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:

1. Maye as leader: The Patriots are hoping that quarterback Drake Maye evolves into more of a leader in his second NFL season. A drill implemented by first-year coach Mike Vrabel at voluntary organized team activities -- which has seldom, if ever, been seen before on the Patriots' practice field -- was one way to possibly accelerate that process.

It thrust Maye into the spotlight in an adverse situation that tested all players' physical and mental toughness.

Here's how it unfolded: At the end of the most recent practice open to reporters, Vrabel lined up the entire offense along the goal line, with Maye in the middle, and implored Maye to decisively call out the cadence before everyone ran a sprint on the correct snap count.

Once ... twice ... three times ... and they kept sprinting after that.

Many players were gassed by the end, which is as close to the maximum physical exertion that can happen in a voluntary spring practice. Offensive lineman Cole Strange, for example, came to the interview area after practice still breathing heavily based on the high-intensity sprints.

As the drill progressed, which included changeups of Vrabel telling Maye to call out of a "dummy" snap count to see if any players might jump early, Maye had to make sure his voice was heard from sideline to sideline.

The Patriots tweeted a picture of the drill, with Maye leading the pack and Vrabel watching closely to see if anyone left early -- a whistle around his neck as he enthusiastically-but-demandingly prodded players to dig deeper.

Perhaps that explains further what veteran running back Rhamondre Stevenson said when asked what he's observed from Maye in recent weeks.

"He's a leader. He has that kind of 'oomph' to him," Stevenson said.

The drill has myriad potential benefits for the Patriots -- from physical conditioning, to sharpening mental focus with a goal of avoiding false starts when fatigued, to putting Maye in a position where he's in charge among the entire offensive unit.

The last part is an evolving process for the 22-year-old, who at this point last year was showing deference to veteran Jacoby Brissett as he attempted to blend into the mix. The work comes as Maye, who now has veteran Joshua Dobbs and undrafted free agent Ben Woodbridge behind him on the depth chart, is also learning a new offense under coordinator Josh McDaniels.

"He's doing really well. He's very smart. Works really hard," McDaniels said. "He's doing a really good job of digesting the information, processing the corrections when there is a correction to be made, and going out there with a great attitude and mindset the next day."

Maye will look to finish the spring on a high note this week when the Patriots hold their mandatory minicamp Monday through Wednesday.

"I think Drake is doing a helluva job with a change from one offense to a new offense," quarterbacks coach Ashton Grant said. "He's been a pro's pro. He's been super intentional with everything we've asked him to do, so I couldn't be happier with where he is right now."

2. Heat check: With Vrabel holding spring practices at noon ET, it had the Patriots on the field at the peak of Thursday's sizzling 90-degree humid day. Some early prep for a Week 2 road game against the Dolphins, with safety Jabrill Peppers noting the conditions on X: "Felt like we had practice in a Sauna today."

There is a much cooler, possibly wet, forecast expected for this week's mandatory minicamp.

3. Davis' absence: Receiver Stefon Diggs' in-and-out attendance at voluntary spring practices sparked headlines, while cornerback Carlton Davis III's similar situation flew a bit more under the radar. Davis was back on the field Thursday after not being present during practices open to reporters the last two weeks.

The Patriots signed Davis to a three-year, $56 million contract in free agency that included $34.5 million in guarantees with the idea of pairing him with second-team All-Pro Christian Gonzalez.

The Davis-Gonzalez combo -- not seen much this spring -- will be among the notable storylines at mandatory camp.

4. Campbell's impression: There is only so much an offensive lineman can show in non-padded spring practices, but for what it's worth, first-round pick Will Campbell went wire to wire at left tackle the last three weeks. He caught the eye of one teammate.

"My first impression is when I saw him set, he has really smooth feet, moves well through air, and is pretty in control of his body and his movements," veteran right tackle Mike Onwenu said.

5. McDaniels' integration: Given the experience on the offensive coaching staff under McDaniels -- with tight ends/passing game coordinator Thomas Brown, receivers coach Todd Downing and offensive line coach Doug Marrone all having served as coordinators in the past -- the melding of ideas has been a prevalent theme this spring.

That showed up last week when McDaniels said the unit was running some plays he wasn't as familiar with, but came from others on staff.

Said Downing: "Pretty humbling and awesome that Josh would be interested in what concepts [assistants] would want to bring to the table. He's had a successful system and he has no reason, other than trusting us and believing in us, to want to hear what we have to say. So that's been quite an honor to do that collectively."

6. Rhamondre remembers: Stevenson didn't have much of a connection with first-year running backs coach Tony Dews entering this year, so when Dews traveled to Las Vegas this spring to check on Stevenson and pay respects to his late father, it resonated with him.

"All that means a lot to me and it meant a lot to my family," said Stevenson, who remained in Vegas until joining the team a couple weeks ago.

7. Dews' recruit: When Dews was coaching running backs at West Virginia in 2017, he got an early start on recruiting by reaching out to TreVeyon Henderson at Hopewell High School in Virginia. It didn't go well.

"He snubbed me!" Dews joked.

Henderson landed at Ohio State, Dews moved on to the NFL with the Tennessee Titans, and now the two have connected again in New England after the Patriots selected Henderson in the second round (No. 38).