FOXBOROUGH – It hasn’t been easy for Drake Maye this offseason.

The Patriots second-year quarterback had more downs than ups in two open practices. In the first open OTA session, Maye threw four interceptions before settling down. That day was surprising because the young quarterback threw only three turnovers in five open practices last offseason as a rookie.

Then in his second open practice, Maye struggled with consistency, completing 53% of his passes.

Before Monday’s third open practice, Josh McDaniels said he wasn’t concerned with Maye. The veteran offensive coordinator explained that he’d rather see the quarterback make mistakes in the spring and overall, he’s been impressed with last year’s No. 3 overall pick.

After McDaniels spoke, Maye proved his offensive coordinator right. The 22-year-old had his best practice of the spring, completing 87.5% (14-of-16) passes against the Patriots defense during competitive team drills. Out of his two incomplete passes, one was broken up by Jaylinn Hawkins, who made a nice play.

The performance was night and day from what Maye looked like in the last two open practices. The quarterback was quick and decisive with his reads and threw accurate passes to every target other than one incomplete, which looked like it could’ve been a throwaway.

Maye completed 14 passes to eight different teammates on Monday. Overall, it was an impressive practice for a player many in Foxborough believe is the future of their franchise.

Here are the main takeaways from Monday’s practice:

Money Maye

Maye was on fire to start practice and never really cooled off.

The quarterback completed his first five passes in the team’s first 11-on-11 period. That included two nice deep passes to Kayshon Boutte (over Alex Austin) and Kyle Williams (over Kobee Minor).

Maye began the next period with a short incomplete to tight end Jack Westover. The pass looked like it could’ve been a throwaway since no one was open downfield. Maye finished that period with completions to TreVeyon Henderson and DeMario Douglas.

Those two passes began a streak of nine-straight completions for Maye. He connected with Rhamondre Stevenson, Boutte, Efton Chism III, and Douglas in the next period. His pass to Boutte was another deep pass over Austin.

Maye finished practice going 3-of-4 in the final 11-on-11 period. He connected with Hunter Henry, Douglas, and then a highlight play to Stevenson. On that play, the running back made a diving catch on a Maye deep ball.

Maye’s final pass was an accurate deep ball to Williams, which Hawkins broke up.

Backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs also had a nice day, finishing 11-of-13. Rookie Ben Wooldridge finished 4-of-8 with an interception thrown to rookie safety Josh Minkins.

Stefon Diggs returns

After making headlines off the field, Stefon Diggs returned to practice for the first time in front of the media on Monday.

The receiver looked like he might be in hot water after a video surfaced of him on a yacht handing out an unknown substance to a group of women. On Monday, however, Diggs walked onto the Patriots practice field and said, “Nice to see you” to a crowd of reporters.

Diggs was limited in practice but looked good for a player who suffered a torn ACL last fall.

The veteran receiver had a notable burst of speed during position drills. Diggs was among the Patriots receivers to go first in these drills. After warming up, he caught several passes from Maye. These drills didn’t have any defensive players on the field, but Diggs caught every pass thrown to him.

When the Patriots broke off into competitive team drills, Diggs worked off to the side with Patriots offensive assistant Riley Larkin and receiver Ja’Lynn Polk. The veteran never took a rep in competitive drills but did participate in the walk-through portion of practice.

Diggs was on the field with Maye and that offensive group.

Efton Chism III hype train

Efton Chism III has quickly shown to be the best-undrafted player on the Patriots roster. The wide receiver from Eastern Washington has looked like he belongs in every practice seen during OTAs.

On Monday, he finished with a team-high seven catches. He’s now led the Patriots in catches in two of three open practices.

What was even more impressive on this day was that Chism was on the field with Maye – and caught a pass from the starting quarterback. The rookie receiver finished with catches from all three Patriots quarterbacks. That included an impressive second 11-on-11 period when he caught three passes in a row from Joshua Dobbs.

Chism finished with four catches from Dobbs and one from Maye and Ben Wooldridge.

Jahlani Tavai suffers injury

It looks like the Patriots might be without a veteran linebacker.

On Monday, Jahlani Tavai went down after a non-contact 11-on-11 play. The 28-year-old was down for several minutes with team doctors and trainers focused on his left leg.

At the time, the Patriots turned off the music to practice and players took a knee around Tavai. The looks on their faces showed the concern they had for their teammate. After being helped to his feet, Tavai struggled to walk off the field. Jabrill Peppers helped the linebacker to the sideline and then Michael Onwenu took over and helped the trainers get Tavai to a different spot on the practice field.

Tavai left practice soon after that – and was taken off-site for further medical evaluation.

Tavai was one of the few holdovers from last year’s Patriots defense. He’s coming off one of the best seasons of his career. Last year, he started 16-of-17 games played and led the Patriots with 115 total tackles. Tavai also had five passes defended, two quarterback hits, a sack, and an interception.

Under Mike Vrabel, the team has revamped the linebacker room in Foxborough with lighter and quicker players. Those new additions include Robert Spillane and Jack Gibbens. The Patriots also have Christian Elliss, Monty Rice (who played for Vrabel in Tennessee), and undrafted free agents Elijah Ponder and Cam Riley.

Rhamondre Stevenson makes play of the day

Stevenson had a late start to the spring after staying home in Las Vegas following the death of his father.

The running back returned to the Patriots last week but was limited in practice. On Monday, Stevenson was back – and made an impact in the offense. The veteran finished with two catches, including the play of the day.

Stevenson ran a wheel route and made a diving catch on a Maye deep ball. It was an impressive catch for the running back, who noted it felt good to start the week on a strong note.

Attendance

The Patriots’ absent list continues to grow.

On Monday, the team was without cornerback Carlton Davis, receiver Kendric Bourne, receiver Mack Hollins, cornerback Marcus Jones, linebacker Anfernee Jennings, running back Trayveon Williams, and guard Tyrese Robinson.

Among the limited practice participants were Diggs, Polk, guard Michael Onwenu, center Jared Wilson, tackle Vederian Lowe, tight end Austin Hooper, defensive tackle Jaquelin Roy, and defensive tackle Wilfried Pene.

Kicker competition

Andy Borregales continues to look like the real deal.

On Monday, the rookie kicker was a perfect 4-of-4 on field goal attempts. Once again, the Patriots had their kickers start in the 30s and work their way up to the 50s. Borregales never missed while his competition, Parker Romo, finished 2-of-4 on the day.

Borregales is the massive favorite to be the Patriots placekicker this season.