New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has made five starts and has had some ups and downs. Such is the life of a rookie signal-caller who starts in the first year of his career after being drafted.
Maye, over that stretch of time, has completed 65.6% of his passes for 770 yards with six touchdowns and four interceptions. In his latest appearance, a 20-17 overtime loss to the Tennessee Titans, he connected on 70.7% of his passing attempts for 206 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
That's a tough game to lose, with the Titans among the teams in contention for the title of “worst team” in the NFL.
Patriots rookie Drake Maye opens up about improvement
Maye recently spoke on what he wants to see change in his game moving forward, and what he feels like he has done well to this point.
“I think my first and second down decision-making has been big,” Maye said, per the Patriots' official website.
“I think whether it's run checks or one high, two high stuff, different things that we're getting in and out of plays, I've been proud of the way that I feel like I've done well,” Maye said in a press release from the team. “That's props to T.C. [McCartney] and the quarterback room of what he does, and preparing us in the quarterback room of being ready.”
Maye is also looking forward to showing off more of his pure playmaking ability that caught him so many eyeballs in his memorable run at UNC.
“Other than that, I think making some plays. I think that's part of my game,” Maye said. “I'm proud of sometimes extending some plays and making plays with my feet, and picking up a first down or third down with my feet. It can go a long way with an offense. I look forward to hopefully helping do some more of that and do a better job of finding these guys open and let them do their thing.”
On the ground this season, Maye has shown some glimpses of what he can do with his mobility. He currently totals 209 rushing yards and one touchdown on 21 carries in 2024.
Maye will look to continue to make progress as the Patriots face the Chicago Bears up next on the schedule at 1 p.m. ET at Soldier Field.
