FOXBOROUGH — It’s easy to be encouraged by what Drake Maye has shown since taking the field.
Though he’s yet to find the win column, the rookie has flashed a live arm, decisiveness in his reads, and his 40-yard laser of a touchdown to Kayshon Boutte displayed why the Patriots picked Maye at No. 3 overall. His potential is off the charts.
But what the rookie is doing behind the scenes has excited teammates just as much.
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Maye is quietly growing into the leader the team hoped he would. Since ascending to the starting role, there’s been no hesitation. He no longer has to worry about stepping on Jacoby Brissett’s toes. It’s Maye’s offense now and he’s behaving accordingly.
In the fourth quarter in London, Maye felt the pocket collapsing and tried to escape rather than stepping up. Rookie mistake. He wound up retreating into Travon Walker, who Mike Onwenu was trying to push around the edge, and the Jaguars defensive end netted an easy sack. Afterward, Maye was quick to seek out the tackle and let him know that it was his own fault, not Onwenu’s. It didn’t matter that Onwenu is a well-established veteran. Maye still wanted to let him know the blame didn’t lie with him.
“With the situation we’re in, our record, it’s honorable,” Onwenu said. “But obviously I’ve gotta do my job and protect him… I’ve seen him grow tremendously in the two weeks he’s played. Even throughout practice, he’s just every week been improving and becoming better as a leader and a quarterback.”
After the loss at Wembley Stadium, Maye also approached veteran Kendrick Bourne to let him know that he needed to get the wideout the football more. It’s clear he’s already comfortable communicating with his veteran peers, and his rookie teammates are seeing this, too.
“It helps us a lot,” Javon Baker said of Maye’s message to Bourne. “Just for the simple fact he knows our mind as a receiver, that we want the ball. If the quarterback knows we want the ball, at the end of the day they’re going to throw it.”
And Maye has certainly had the back of embattled rookie teammate Ja’Lynn Polk.
Following another rough showing for the wideout in London, Maye sounded like a weathered vet in defending his teammate. Polk had four balls thrown his way, didn’t catch a single target, and fell down on a two-point attempt. But Maye pumped up his teammate as “a great player” after the loss, blamed himself for one missed connection, poor conditions for others and claimed responsibility for his peer’s struggles.
“I’ve gotta find ways to get him the football early,” Maye said. “I’ve gotta get him in the game early… He’s a good player for us and we need him out there. So it’s on me to get him going.”
While it hasn’t led to a win, yet, his approach has made his teammates believe Maye will be the guy to get them there.
”He’s the ultimate leader,” Rhamondre Stevenson said.
