One of the biggest storylines hovering over the New England Patriots this spring involves the fact that outsiders expect second-year quarterback Drake Maye will make a big leap while learning under first-year New England head coach Mike Vrabel and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels following McDaniels’ return to the organization.
While speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Patriots wide receiver Kendrick Bourne offered somewhat of a warning to the rest of the NFL regarding what Maye is today compared to what the 22-year-old was as a rookie last spring.
“The confidence is there, maybe even more confidence,” Bourne said about Maye, as shared by Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald. “Obviously, he’s gonna be in a new system. So I think he’s in that process. He’s learning. But the confidence is there. Drake is a competitor. When we do certain things, like, his competitive spirit is starting to show more, in my opinion, which I love. Coming out of that shell, you know he’s gonna become a vet. So I think that’s what he’s embracing. He understands. He’s familiar with what to expect, what to feel, and that just creates a better, confident quarterback going into Year 2.”
The Patriots clearly entered this offseason with the goal in mind of building around Maye after he impressed throughout his debut pro campaign. New England signed wide receiver Stefon Diggs to a three-year, $69M contract, and the club later spent worthwhile draft picks on “high-character players” such as offensive tackle Will Campbell, running back TreVeyon Henderson and wide receiver Kyle Williams.
Following the 2025 draft, Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf noted that he expected Maye to grow as a leader during his first NFL offseason as a full-time QB1. Bourne indicated Maye’s competitive nature is all part of that process.
“It creates us to be better,” Bourne added about how Maye’s personality is impacting the locker room during springtime workouts. “We want to beat each other in a race, or whatever it is, conditioning and things like that. When you do things and he just competes, and you love to see that from the quarterback.”
Maye went just 3-9 as a starter last season while playing under one-and-done head coach Jerod Mayo. The franchise is still in the early stages of its second reset in two years, but it sounds like Maye has already done well to respond to Wolf’s challenge as it pertains to behind-the-scenes work.
