New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is a central focus of team legends who are excited about his future with the organization. The No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft showed serious flashes of talent in his rookie year.
Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski discussed Maye’s future with the team while in New Orleans for Super Bowl 59.
Patriots’ Legends Think the Future Is Bright
Speaking with PFSN, both Gronkowski and Edelman were impressed with Maye’s rookie season.
“Just the command that he has, the leadership that he has, and also the ability to make plays as well. He’s just a young buck. He’s just a rookie. He can extend plays as well, which is incredible. He was reading defenses really well. And he’s got a great fade ball,” Gronkowski said.
“Great fade ball. That’s number one. As a quarterback, basically anyone can throw a fade ball as a quarterback, but he has a great one. And then, as time went on throughout the year, he was developing and was able to find guys in the middle of the field — the guys that are crossing the field.
“And that’s what it’s all about with a quarterback — when times get tough to be able to find that guy within a tight window, and that’s what he’s been able to do,” the former tight end added.
Maye finished 19th in PFN’s QB+ metric with a grade of C. Maye threw for over 2,000 yards and 15 touchdowns this past season.
Edelman was also impressed with Maye.
“The amount of plays he made, he surpassed how I thought he was going to do. He didn’t have any help on the offensive line. There was a carousel of guys going in and out of the lineup that he was throwing to, and he handled it. I love the fact that he comes from a family of brothers. He knows what it is to be the runt. And he doesn’t snivel when things aren’t going well,” he said.
“Like, I love his attitude. Now, he has a lot of things he’s got to work on. I would love to see his feet get set a lot more. That’ll happen naturally because he’ll know where he’s going with the ball a lot quicker and that’s usually what correlates with feet.
“So, I mean, there are things he’s got to work on, but that was such an unbelievable year for him to have, for his confidence, for the team to see, for the region to see, so I’m excited for his future.”
The pair also praised offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, whom new head coach Mike Vrabel rehired to run his offense. McDaniels worked with Tom Brady during his time with the Patriots.
“One thing that Josh McDaniels does extremely well is he designs the scheme around the players that he has. We [went from an] 11-personnel team to a 12-personnel team back to an 11-personnel team — meaning the amount of tight ends you have in the game and receivers, all that. So I think for Drake, having a guy like Josh is going to be huge,” said Edelman.
Gronkowski agreed.
“[McDaniels] helped my teammates grow. He helped Tom Brady’s growth, and he’s going to do such a great job with Drake Maye. Because Drake Maye seems like the player that wants to develop. He wants to be better. He wants to be coached. And that’s what Josh McDaniels is there for, and that’s why I think it’s a great pick [up].”
McDaniels, Maye and Vrabel will work together to improve on the 4-13 record the Patriots posted in 2024.