Patriots
“He’s an unbelievable kid, a bright kid. He can spin the heck out of the ball. He moves well.”
Patriots QB Drake Maye has a long way to go if he wants to establish himself as a franchise fixture like reigning league MVP Josh Allen.
But, the Bills quarterback likes what he sees in the Patriots’ second-year signal caller, noting during a recent episode of the “Like a Farmer” podcast that he’s formed a “good relationship” with Maye over the last year.
“Got to spend some time with him this offseason. He’s an unbelievable guy. He’s still in the kid tier for me,” Allen said. “He’s younger than I am. He’s an unbelievable kid, a bright kid. He can spin the heck out of the ball. He moves well.”
“And he seems like, again, the only thing that I ever tell anybody is like when they ask me like, ‘What’s your No. 1?’ It’s like just be yourself, right? Be authentic, know who you are, don’t try to be somebody that you’re not. And he seems like a kid that is only him.”
Allen has previously doled out praise for Maye, with the star QB telling Sports Illustrated’s Liam McKeone in June that Maye is one of his “favorite young quarterbacks in the league.”
Maye has drawn some comparisons to Allen since arriving in the NFL given both his arm strength and knack for gaining yards on the ground with his scrambling ability and larger frame — with The Ringer founder Bill Simmons even dubbing Maye as “mini Josh Allen” earlier this summer.
Maye had an up-and-down showing during New England’s season-opening loss to the Raiders on Sunday, completing 30-of-46 passes for 287 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
Expectations are high on Maye as the former No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft looks to help New England take a step forward in 2025. But, Allen’s career trajectory might stand as an example of the long development time that some QBs might need at this level.
While Allen now holds court as one of the top QBs in the game, it took him some time to find his groove in Buffalo — throwing for 30 touchdowns, 21 interceptions and completing just 56.3 percent of his throws over his first two seasons with the Bills before going through a breakout year in 2020 (37 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, 4,544 passing yards).
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