Drake Maye has taken massive strides in his second professional season, and the entire NFL has taken notice.
Maye leads the league in completion percentage and passer rating. And with the Patriots sitting at 6-2, he’s generating some serious discussion about his MVP candidacy.
With that in mind, Patriots insider Phil Perry turned to NFL insider James Palmer for a national perspective on Maye. Palmer spoke highly of the role that offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has played in that growth.
“I think this relationship between Josh McDaniels and Drake Maye should be one of the most talked-about marriages in the NFL,” Palmer told Perry on a new episode of the Next Pats Podcast. “It really should, because of the way that they keep adding to it.”
Palmer provided several specifics, but one involving McDaniels using his history with Tom Brady was particularly interesting.
“The way that the behind-the-scenes aspect has worked to where Josh can go to Drake and go, ‘I did this with Brady. I did this and this worked,'” Palmer said. “And there’s an aspect of it I was told that was — maybe it won’t be the first thing to come to mind — it’s that Drake looks at him and goes, ‘Wait, you think that highly of me? That, yeah, you did that with Tom, you wanna do that with me? Let’s go.’ There’s the pelt on the wall there that has Drake kind of thinking in a manner to allow that to come to fruition on Sundays. So I think the way that they’ve worked with him has been outstanding.”
Palmer added that so much of Maye’s improvement comes from Maye himself and the way he’s actually performed, but the impact of McDaniels has clearly been significant.
“I feel like this is just the start with the way he’s playing,” Palmer said. “It’s been outstanding, and I think it shows you the importance of a really good, experienced play-caller having the time and the pelts on the wall to be with your young quarterback. It’s paramount to success in this league.”
Also in this episode:
- Expectations for the Patriots at the trade deadline
- A closer look at the Drake Maye-Kayshon Boutte connection
- Who’s Next?!
