The New England Patriots have a superstar in the making with Drake Maye. While his first season in Foxborough didn't end in many favorable results with a 4-13 record, the team's third-overall pick showed a bevy of flashes and impressive plays to provide the confidence needed to rally behind him for the foreseeable future.
At 6-foot-4 with impressive athleticism, arm talent, and mobility, Maye has all of the traits many aspire for their franchise quarterback to have. Sure, there are still a few qualities to polish up to find him among the league's elite signal callers, but he has more than enough potential to get there.
And when you ask Maye's teammates, they seem to share a similar sentiment.
Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez sounded off during Super Bowl week about what he's seen out of Maye across his first season and how he sees New England getting back on the winning side of things:
"It all starts with Drake [Maye]," Gonzalez said. "Everybody has seen what Drake can do. We got full faith in Drake. He's a superstar. Being able, as a defense, to get more turnovers –– to get back to the Patriot defense everybody knows; just getting the ball back. If we do that, and get the ball back to Drake a lot more times, I feel like we could have won a lot more of those games."
Maye finished his rookie season, starting 12 games to finish with 2,276 passing yards, 13 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions on a 66.6% completion rate.
However, while Maye impressed the crowd on his part, Gonzalez wants to do more to help out his franchise quarterback ahead of next year. The Patriots were ranked 30th in the NFL for forced turnovers, and to become an elite unit on both ways of the field, generating those giveaways is critical. Thankfully, the New England star defender is motivated to make it happen.
Entering his second season, Maye will have to focus a bit on limiting turnovers and honing the mental aspect on his side of the game. But, if his initial sample size showed anything, Gonzalez's "superstar" evaluation may not be too far off.
