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Drake Maye faces a monumental task in joining the New England Patriots only five years after the Tom Brady era, but one former coach of Brady’s sees promise in the rookie and recent No. 3 pick.
That’s Clyde Christensen, who worked with Brady during his Tampa Bay Buccaneers stint. Christensen also volunteered with the North Carolina offensive coaching staff where Maye played last year. In addition, Christen has extra quarterback insight from his time as offensive coordinator with the Indianapolis Colts during the Peyton Manning era.
“You hate to even talk about (Maye) in those sentences with those guys because of the longevity — how they performed so well for so long — but I think he has a lot of the same traits that give you a chance to be great,” Christensen said during a Zoom call via MassLive.com’s Chris Mason. “You need some luck. You need to stay healthy. You need some teammates. You need a lot of things to go with it.”
Maye had talent around him at UNC as he threw for 8,018 yards and 63 touchdowns versus 16 interceptions in his career. The Patriots added mostly offensive talent in the draft, which could aid his development. Christensen noted that Maye brings intangibles to the table, too.
“But he processes information extremely well, a lot like Peyton. He has a humbleness and a humility like Tom that players play for him. He has that kind of humility that just attracts teammates. He’s going to be a great teammate,” Christensen said. “There’s nobody in our [North Carolina] locker room who you’d find [with] a bad word about him. He just fits in. He’s one of the guys. Yet is able to lead and rally people together and call people out if [he] needs to — but he does it in a good way.”
Drake Maye Has Good Awareness, Clyde Christensen Says
If Maye gets to start, he will have to revive an offense that produced 13.9 points and 295.2 yards per game last season. In addition, it could be a young offense around him or a group of veterans who haven’t tasted consistent success since 2021.
“I think he does have that awareness of what’s going on around, which is huge,” Christensen explained. “It’s a huge thing to have. When do you jump on the offensive line? When do you just try to build them up? When do you give the receivers a kick in the butt? When do you hug them up? He does have a knack for that. An awareness of when and where and how that’s huge.”
Drake Maye Will Have to Win QB Battle Against Jacoby Brissett
Maye will have to win a quarterback competition in training camp in order to get that chance in 2024. The Patriots also brought in veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett as a potential bridge starter, and Brissett expects to compete.
“That’s all out of my control, so I don’t really worry about that. I’m excited to have him on the team, and the other guys as well that we drafted and picked up. I think it’s going to be good,” Brissett said via ESPN’s Mike Reiss on May 1. “Competition brings out the best in all of us, so I’m excited about that part.”
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