Super Bowl Winner Warns Patriots About Drake Maye

He’s touted as a would-be franchise quarterback, but Drake Maye still has his doubters, including a former Super Bowl winner for the New England Patriots, who has questioned Maye’s capacity to lead.

Ted Johnson won three Lombardi Trophies as a middle linebacker for the Pats in the 2000s, and he’s worried about Maye’s “mental aptitude, or the mental skill set to match what his natural talents are,” per MassLive.com’s Karen Guregian.

Johnson warned, “you need him to be the alpha. He doesn’t have an alpha presence. That’s what you need to have in this league to survive.”

He has other doubts, but Johnson’s mostly keen to see Maye exert himself more as a vocal leader in his second season. The franchise great wants to see some swagger from New England’s QB1.

Making himself heard as a leader is an important intangible for Maye to master, but there are also concerns about some of the 22-year-old’s on-field mechanics.

Super Bowl Winner Not Sure Drake Maye Is ‘The Guy’

Johnson is unsure Maye can be “the guy” for the Patriots, and events this offseason have done little to change the 52-year-old’s mind. Specifically, Johnson has yet to see Maye lead by example, both on and off the field.

As Johnson put it, “whether it comes from leadership, whether it comes from a clutch gene, whether it comes from just being the man, the face of the franchise, I was kind of hoping I’d hear some stories this offseason that he was bringing guys together, that he was throwing with guys. That sounds kind of corny, and maybe forced, but the quarterback has to be the CEO. He has to take ownership of the football team. And I don’t know if he’s fully accepted that part of the job.”

Not seizing the initiative to unify key teammates around him is surprising when the Patriots have made so many changes to Maye’s supporting cast. He has a new blindside protector in the form of 2025 NFL draft No. 4 pick Will Campbell, to go with a new go-to receiver, veteran Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs.

Meanwhile, Campbell’s fellow rookies running back TreVeyon Henderson and wideout Kyle Williams have the big-play potential to expand both phases of the offense. Maye needs to get to know all of the moving parts in returning offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ notoriously complex system.

Johnson admitted how seeing Maye opt against getting a head-start on what will be an elaborate transition “makes me hesitate to think that he might be the guy, ultimately because of those things. But his talent is undeniable. His skills are undeniable.”

Those skills are evidenced by this terrific throw to DeMario Douglas against the Los Angeles Rams last season, highlighted by Nate Tice of Yahoo! Sports.

There was nothing mentally fragile about the way Maye stood tall under pressure and made a clutch, off-platform throw from a collapsing pocket. This is how Maye can be a leader in a different way, by talking less, but letting his actions on the field speak louder.

Maye taking charge would help convince Johnson the ex-North Carolina star can be the “alpha” the Patriots haven’t had at football’s most important position since Tom Brady left town in 2020.

Reaching the same status as Brady won’t just depend on Maye having more of a presence. He’ll also need to improve in key physical areas.

Patriots Need Drake Maye to Improve on the Field

He impressed often enough as a rookie in challenging circumstances, but there were still some raw points in Maye’s performances. Most notably, a damaging knack for turnovers that resulted in 10 interceptions and nine fumbles.

Many of those mistakes swung games away from the Patriots. Like when Maye had the ball jarred out by defensive tackle Braden Fiske against the Rams in Week 11, for what Blaine Grisak of SB Nation’s Turf Show Times called a “huge momentum changer.”

Learning to protect the football at all times has to be a priority for Maye in Year 2, but so does chancing his arm to create more big plays in the passing game. Without them, Maye runs the risk of justifying a comparison with former New York Giants draft bust Daniel Jones.

Maye has the arm strength, mobility and flair for extending plays to be what the Patriots expect, but he can’t let his core talents be undermined by poor intangibles.