Drake Maye addressed the New England media for the first time Thursday night after the Patriots selected him with the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and reporters wasted no time putting pressure on the future franchise quarterback.
One reporter told Maye that many analysts would claim the Patriots' situation for a rookie quarterback is one of the worst in the NFL, if not the worst. With a depleted wide receiver corps featuring Kendrick Bourne coming off a torn ACL, JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeMario Douglas, and the newly-signed K.J. Osborn, Maye's offensive weapons certainly won't rank among the league's best.
How does the 21-year-old QB feel about that assessment of his new team?
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"I think they're wrong," Maye replied confidently, as seen in the video above. "The defense last year held a lot of teams to low points, and I'm looking forward to helping anyway on the offense, offensively. I'm just looking forward to being there with coach [Jerod] Mayo his first year."
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Despite New England's 4-13 season last year, the Patriots defense was a bright spot -- even throughout injuries to key players like Christian Gonzalez and Matthew Judon -- ranking in the top half of the league in opponent points per game at 21.5.
With the defense seemingly never a major part of the issue, Maye has an opportunity -- after potentially beginning the season behind Jacoby Brissett -- to help the offense put some points on the board. The Patriots failed at that last year, scoring the fewest points across the NFL.
"I think anyone who's saying that [the Patriots are one of the worst situations for a rookie QB] -- hopefully we'll find out this season," Maye added. "I'm just going to work hard with the guys and hope we prove them wrong."