New England Patriots
“I think that people need to dial it back just a touch and appreciate what this kid is doing.”
Drew Bledsoe in 2024. Matthew J Lee/The Boston Globe
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Drake Maye had a true breakout season last year, after showing some flashes as a rookie.
This past season, he finished second in the MVP voting and led the Patriots to the Super Bowl.
Is such a level of success sustainable? Four-time Pro Bowler Drew Bledsoe warned Patriots fans that their expectations for Maye might be a little too high heading into his third season.
“He’s got all the things and there’s a different kind of pressure that comes with that,” Bledsoe said during an appearance on Up & Adams. “It’s like a one-foot putt. All you can do is miss. So, Drake, he’s got all the pieces to the puzzle and they also went on this pretty amazing run last year and a lot of things had to fall in place for them to make the Super Bowl.”
“I think the one thing that I would say to all the people out there is temper your expectations just a little bit. If your expectations are MVP and win the Super Bowl, that’s really hard year in and year out.”
Maye has done nothing to lower those expectations. He arrived at OTAs looking stronger and more muscular than he had in the past. He has mostly been impressive during 11-on-11 scrimmages throughout the spring.
Maye enters his third season with a deep playoff run under his belt and a new set of weapons to throw to, including A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs. The Patriots have spent their last two first-round picks on offensive tackles in hopes of protecting Maye better.
Despite taking 47 sacks during the regular-season, Maye completed 72 percent of his passes and threw for 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns against eight interceptions. At age 23, Maye appears to just be getting started.
“Just appreciate what this guy is doing,” Bledsoe said. “He’s a very, very talented player. He’s going to continue to get better. Let’s pull back and just appreciate who the guy is without necessarily putting the world’s craziest expectations on him heading into next season.”
Bledsoe is familiar with high expectations. He was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1993 NFL draft. The Patriots made the Super Bowl in 1996. By the time the Patriots made it back to the Super Bowl in 2001, a young quarterback named Tom Brady had taken his starting spot. Bledsoe still got a ring as a member of the championship team.
“I was young. I was kind of where Drake Maye is,” Bledsoe said. “All of a sudden it’s like they put you on this incredible pedestal that’s almost unattainable and then from there they just shoot at you.”
“I knew that going in. I knew what it was and I wasn’t afraid of it. I think Drake has his head screwed on squarely but there is a thing there where sometimes these expectations can outpace reality and there’s so many different things that do into the success or failure of a team.”
Bledsoe said he is not worried about Maye. He also said he is aware that Patriots fans probably won’t lower their expectations for him.
But, as someone who was once in a similar spot, he wouldn’t mind seeing it happen.
“I think if there’s a sense out there that anything short of a championship and an MVP is a failure of a season, that’s a little crazy. I think that people need to dial it back just a touch and appreciate what this kid is doing.”
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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