Drake Maye had a relatively strong rookie season, but the New England Patriots quarterback recognized that he still has a ways to go before reaching the next level.
In an appearance on The Athletic's Scoop City, Maye shared that he's hoping to grow as a leader this offseason.
“Non-tangible things on the field [that I want to get better at], I think just leadership, taking the next step of being ‘the guy,'” Maye said. “Getting a chance to kinda make more noise in the locker room. It’s tough to kinda speak up as a rookie… kinda just taking the next step in that. And from there, just football-wise — quarterback-wise — you always gotta stay up to date on footwork and little things like that.”
Maye showed plenty of on-field promise after the Patriots took him with the No. 3 overall pick. He completed 66.6 percent of his passes for 2,276 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, with an 88.1 passer rating to go with 421 rushing yards on 7.8 yards per carry and two rushing scores in 13 games. While the stats may not look tremendous compared to other top quarterbacks, Maye would routinely make standout plays as he was tasked with elevating one of the league's worst offenses.
But the Patriots looked listless on numerous occasions offensively this season, even with Maye as their starting quarterback. The unit was relatively young, with second-round rookie wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk struggling and failing to take accountability for his poor production at one point in the 2024 season.
So, if Maye can get his message across to his teammates in 2025, that would obviously be a tremendous step in the right direction. He's already started to show his voice as well, as Maye attempted to recruit players to join the Patriots at the Pro Bowl Games.
Christian Gonzalez believes Drake Maye can lead Patriots to success in 2025
Following a second straight 4-13 season, the Patriots are hoping to turn things around in 2025. They hired arguably the top head coach on the market in Mike Vrabel and have over $120 million in cap space this offseason to go along with the No. 4 overall pick in the draft, giving them assets to improve the roster.
However, Christian Gonzalez recognized that the quarterback's play will likely determine the Patriots' success in 2025. He has confidence that Maye can take New England to the next level.
“It all starts with Drake,” Gonzalez told Pro Football Talk Live. “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.”
While the Patriots' offense ranked 31st in total offense in 2024, their defense wasn't much better. They were 23rd in yards and points allowed, showing that they need to get better in a big way on both sides of the ball if they hope to compete in 2025.
