With Drake Maye, the New England Patriots will not get themselves another Tom Brady. Obviously. That shouldn’t be the goal for anybody, because it’s never going to happen.
Yet as the second-year quarterback enters a significant season in his growth and development, Tom E. Curran is comfortable already saying that Maye will turn out better than 1993 No. 1 overall pick Drew Bledsoe.
“You scoff? You don’t think Bledsoe was that great?” Curran said on Quick Slants. “For the first five and a half seasons, there wasn’t really a young quarterback in the league that you’d rather have than Drew. Pro Bowl three of his first five, playoffs in four of his first six, Super Bowl appearance in his fourth season.”
While Curran believes that Maye is on the right trajectory and won’t “cap out” around age 25 like Bledsoe, he’s cautioning all New England fans to be understanding and patient with some of the bumps that he’s sure to hit.
“For decades, worried parents have treated newly licensed drivers to rolling battleships, giant cars, because they understand that dents and dings are inevitable. You just hope for the best but prepare for the worst,” Curran said. “Drake Maye is the equivalent of a new driver. He’s going to hit some curbs. He’s gonna bang some mailboxes. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a battleship like the [Chrysler] Newport. He cracks his car up, people aren’t going to be forgiving. Which explains the day-to-day hand-wringing about every pick, fumble, and sack.”
Curran concluded: “It’s OK to be worried about this or that and to nitpick about the third overall pick. Just keep this in mind: While the car is gonna get dented, Maye is eventually gonna get you exactly where you need to go.”
