Gruden: Patriots have ‘one hell of a young quarterback’ in Drake Maye

Gruden: Patriots have ‘one hell of a young quarterback’ in Drake Maye originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Drake Maye has a fan in Jon Gruden.

At this time last season, with the Patriots having won three of their first 10 games and a then-rookie Maye just five starts into his career, Gruden said Maye was going to be a “superstar.” The third overall pick will be everything Patriots fans are looking for, Gruden said on his first day with Barstool Sports.

The second-year signal-caller, a front-runner for 2025 NFL MVP, is cementing Gruden’s opinion as fact one year later. And Gruden got to see it up close when Maye’s Patriots beat the Buccaneers on Sunday.

“To be honest with you, I was really eager to see Drake Maye play and, man, was I impressed,” Gruden said on The Quick Snap podcast with co-hosts Brian Hoyer and David Andrews.

“The guy really handled the Tampa Bay defense, I think,” Gruden said. “The pressures — he threw the ball hot, he audibled a few times. He handled the rain.”

Maye wasn’t at his best in Tampa Bay, but still helped New England score 28 points against Todd Bowles’ pressure-packed defense. Maye’s 51.6 percent completion percentage (16-for-31) was a season-low AND he still threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns,

Maye ranks second in the league in completion percentage and first in completion percentage above expectation, per Next Gen Stats. Simply put, he’s been deadly accurate. It was the case against the Buccaneers with high-level throws on Kyle Williams’ 74-yard touchdown, Stefon Diggs’ end-of-half score and Mack Hollins’ 55-yard reception.

“His deep ball accuracy, his poise in the pocket, it made me really jealous,” Gruden said with a smirk. “I’m like, ‘God dang it, the Patriots got another great quarterback. But it was really impressive.”

Gruden added: “Like I said, I’m jealous. I hate the New England Patriots because of the Tuck Rule. Now I’m really miserable because they’ve got one hell of a young quarterback.”

The Super Bowl-winning head coach credited Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels for turning the team around. He also credited Maye for his ability to handle disappointment.

While there hasn’t been much of that at One Patriot Place this season, Maye faced plenty of it late in his career at North Carolina and as a rookie in New England. It stuck out to Gruden during the pre-draft process before the 2024 NFL Draft.

“I love watching quarterbacks at their press conference after losses,” Gruden said. “And when I saw Drake Maye address the media after losing games (at North Carolina), that’s when I really fell in love with him. I said, ‘This guy has got the it factor.’ He has a great ability to handle misery and adversity. And that’s going to serve him well in this long career that he has ahead of himself.”

Gruden saw the it factor before many in New England.

More in this week’s episode of The Quick Snap podcast: