On Sunday, rookie Drake Maye fell to 2-4 as the starting quarterback of the Patriots, as his team lost 28-22 in Week 11 to the Los Angeles Rams at Gillette Stadium.
This most recent loss moves New England to 3-8 on the season, but you wouldn’t know it if you just listened to what the national media has had to say about Maye’s play under center of late.
“Drake Maye’s gonna be a superstar,” former Super Bowl-winning head coach Jon Gruden said on a livestream for Barstool Sports on Thursday. “Drake Maye is gonna be everything you’re looking for. Five star, five star badass. He’s a horse, man.”
When asked by a Barstool personality if he liked Maye more than standout Washington rookie Jayden Daniels, Gruden simply replied, “I love ’em.”
On Sunday, more praise came in for Maye pregame on FOX.
This time, it was a couple of Patriots legends.
“I love Drake Maye,” said three-time Super Bowl champion Rob Gronkowski. “I love everything about him, especially that he had brothers growing up, and he was always competing versus them. His brothers are busting his chops and then they’re always praising him the next day. And that was kind of like my life growing up.
“And just that aura around him. He’s a complete leader. He’s a complete quarterback out on the football field, too. He has that aura around him where the players like him. They like what he’s doing, they like how he prepares. And to have that skill, to call a team meeting as a rookie at 22 years old, you know you’re gonna be the real deal. And you know you’re in the right mindset to be the quarterback of the New England Patriots if you’re already doing that.”
“I love it,” Super Bowl LIII MVP Julien Edleman followed-up. “He’s earned the ability to call a team meeting with his play the last few weeks, and how he’s came in and he’s been productive. And he’s also improved each and every week.
“So there’s a big difference between a quarterback that comes in, calls a players-only meeting when he’s been playing like dog crap. You know, this kid’s been fighting his butt off, and he’s got a good attitude. I think it’s granted.”
“That’s what I love about Drake Maye,” Gronkowski continued. “He’s letting his, you know, his play on the field speak for himself. And his leadership grows as his play on the field grows, and that coincides with each other.”
This is just a sampling of the high praise Maye was receiving heading into Sunday’s game against Los Angeles.
It continued piling in during-and-after his Week 11 performance, as his game against the Rams was arguably his best showing as a pro so far.
Maye had 30 completions (career high) on 40 attempts for 282 yards (career high) and 2 touchdowns. He paired that with only 1 interception and 3 sacks for his second-highest passer rating of the season (100.2).
“You can really see his ability to create off-schedule,” said Rams head coach Sean McVay in the postgame press conference on Sunday. “I thought he did a great job of being able to make plays in the pocket today. Extend drives - I thought he was patient, taking some underneath checkdowns where guys were able to create. We had some tighter coverages, and he was able to fit the ball into tight windows. So, he looks like a stud.
“I didn’t do too much work on him coming out [of college], but I do know that a lot of people that studied him really hard, that I truly respect their opinions, loved what he was all about. You can see, you know, just the impact that he has on his teammates, the way people talk about him here. He looks like he’s gonna be a special player for a long time, and he gave us fits today.”
On Monday, Drake Maye was asked on the WEEI Afternoon Show what he thought of all these kind words coming his way.
“Yeah, I try not to read too much into that,” said Maye. “I think, you know, probably the biggest time I notice is, you know, the fanbase on Sunday in the games. I think they’ve been great. You know, even at away games, feel like Pats fans have showed-out, so I think we try to help them out and put some wins in the win column.
“That’s the biggest thing we need to do a better job of. But I think we’re in some games, and a few plays away from having some more ‘dubs’ in the win column.”
Maye went on to say that while he appreciates positive reinforcement from people around the football world, it’s not what drives him to keep getting better.
“I appreciate it,” said Maye. “Especially some of the media guys. You said Gronk said something - like, next time I see Gronk, or hopefully meet him sometime, just thank him and appreciate it. I think more of a - don’t take too high when you feel like you’re playing well, and don’t take too low when things aren’t going your way.
“It’s kind of a tough battle, because I do feel like I’m making some plays, and we’re moving the ball offensively, but I don’t think it’s turning into wins. So I think we need to figure that part out. But at the same time, I think we got those guys in that room. A lot of different guys making plays, and I think we’re just, you know, a few plays away. And it’s a bummer, really, how the end of the game has ended up. Because I feel like, you know, a chance with the ball in my hands, that’s what I want. I want the ball to be in my hands with a chance to win it, and just gotta come up on the right side of it.”
Add Maye having the exact right attitude about positive attention to the praise pile for the rookie QB out of North Carolina.
He’ll look for career dub No. 3 in Week 12 against the Miami Dolphins (4-6), a team he was still the backup quarterback for when the Patriots played them in Week 5.
New England lost that game 15-10, marking veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett’s final game as the starter under center.