The New England Patriots have not had a great start to the Jerod Mayo era. New England is 1-5 heading into Week 7 and is sitting at the bottom of the AFC East standings. One bright spot is the emergence of rookie QB Drake Maye as the starter for the Patriots. One Patriots coach believes that Drake Maye has grown a lot over the past several weeks.
Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said on Thursday that Drake May is “a completely different QB” than he was in Week 1, per Brian Hines of Pats Pulpit. Van Pelt highlighted a play in practice on Wednesday where he did not give Maye an answer against a zero blitz. Instead of panicking or getting sacked, May beat it for a touchdown.
This is great news for the Patriots. There has been little to cheer about so far this season. The continued development of Drake Maye is the closest that New England is going to come to succeeding this season.
The Patriots may not have gotten the win in Week 6, but they did showcase just how far Drake Maye has come. Maye put up impressive stats against a stout Texans defense. He passed for 243 passing yards and three touchdowns while also adding five carries for 38 yards on the ground. Those 38 yards made Maye the leading rusher on the team, since Antonio Gibson turned 13 carries into only 19 yards.
Patriots fans must be excited to see what Drake Maye can do throughout the rest of the season.
CJ Stroud's postgame message to Patriots rookie Drake Maye surfaces after Week 6
Texans QB CJ Stroud is turning into a mentor for all of the young rookie signal callers around the NFL.
Stroud made headlines when he went out of his way to give Bears rookie Caleb Williams some advice after their Week 2 matchup. That trend has continued in the weeks since, with Stroud most recently talking with Drake Maye after the Texans beat the Patriots 41-21 in Week 6.
Stroud later shared what he said with Maye after the game.
“Much respect to you, bro. Really solid. Learn from your mistakes. Keep going,” CJ Stroud said.
This is good advice for Maye to hear from Stroud. One of the best skills that Drake Maye can develop during his rookie season is learning from mistakes. Almost no QBs come into the NFL and succeed right away, so mistakes are inevitable. They may be more frequent than usual considering the current dysfunction within the Patriots' offense.
Patriots fans are hoping that Maye takes Stroud's advice and can become the future of their franchise.
Next up for the Patriots is a Week 7 clash with the ailing Jaguars.