Drake Maye has only played about nine quarters of football as a starter for the New England Patriots, but the rookie quarterback has given fans plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the franchise's future.
Maye has completed 63.1 percent of his passes for 564 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions, in addition to 114 rushing yards (8.8 per carry) and one more touchdown, in four appearances (three starts).
Maye was playing well in Sunday's Week 8 game against the New York Jets before he had to leave in the second quarter with a concussion. It's not known when he'll return to game action.
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What have we learned about Maye in his first couple games as a pro? Former Super Bowl champion and NFL MVP Kurt Warner joined Phil Perry on NBC Sports Boston's Next Pats Podcast to discuss Maye's development and more.
🔊 Next Pats: Hall of Famer IMPRESSED by early returns on Drake Maye | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
"I've been more impressed watching him the last couple of weeks than even I was in the preseason," Warner said. "Just his ability and timing in terms of getting the ball out, seeing things and getting the ball out in rhythm I think is better, or has been better the last couple of weeks, than I expected, based on what I saw in college and even some of the stuff that I saw in preseason.
"So I've been impressed with what Drake has done. His ability to see the field and process information and, as I said, get the ball out on time -- it hasn't been perfect and it's been twofold. I tweeted a couple of weeks ago just about how the system and the spacing, or lack of spacing that they had, in his first game a couple of weeks ago, made it really, really hard on him.
"In some of those situations, there just really wasn't a whole lot to do. He was able to end up having some success in that game because there was a lot of man-to-man coverage late in the game. He was able to make some really good man-to-man throws and they were able to get some big plays off of it.
"And then against Jacksonville in that game, I thought he processed information really, really well and did some really good things in that game. And then, of course, not a whole lot of time this past weekend, unfortunately. Hopefully, he bounces back quickly from the concussion. But again, you're just seeing some really good things in him.
"He's not putting the ball in harm's way and making bad decisions. I want to see him slide a little bit more. He doesn't have to make every extra yard when he's scrambling. But I have been more impressed with what I've seen the last couple of weeks from him than I expected to be at this point in his career."
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One of the most effective ways for the Patriots to help Maye reach his potential is by surrounding him with as much elite talent on offense as possible. The Patriots need a left tackle and a true No. 1 wide receiver.
Bringing in high-end talent isn't the only part of the equation, though. If the offensive coordinator isn't able to identify what these players do best and then game-plan around those strengths, the team won't function at its maximum output.
"When you ask what kind of players to put around Drake Maye, I think the bottom line is if you've got a good quarterback, it doesn't matter the kind of players that you have," Warner said. "It's more about figuring out what those players do well and putting them in positions to succeed, running concepts that they're really, really good at.
"Putting those guys into places on those concepts where they can excel is the most important thing. I played with some big guys, I played with some quick guys, and all of them had their strengths as long as we used them the right way. If I've got a big, strong guy, that's kind of got good speed but is slow getting that big body in and out of breaks, I want to keep that guy on the move.
"If I've got a quick guy that's really good at coming out of breaks, then I'll put him on more of those stop-and-go routes or in-and-out routes where we can create separation that way. It's so much understanding what the skill set of your players are, not necessarily finding one that fits this particular mold. It's finding good players and then being able to mesh your system to what those players do well."
Maye has already shown -- in a small sample size, of course -- that he has the tools to be successful in the NFL. Now it's up to the Patriots to get him some help at the skill positions and upgrade the offensive line.
It goes without saying that the upcoming offseason and the 2025 NFL Draft will be monumental events for the future of this Patriots franchise.
Also in this episode:
- What should the Patriots do at the trade deadline?
- Kurt Warner’s impressions of Drake Maye so far
- What more can Alex Van Pelt do to help his young QB?
- What type of WR would be best for Maye?
- What's the ceiling for Drake?