Patriots FB Reggie Gilliam compares Drake Maye to former MVP

New England Patriots

“I love to run the ball … especially when the other team knows we’re running the ball.”

Reggie Gilliam should be a punishing force on the ground for New England. . (AP Photo/ Jeffrey T. Barnes)

​FOXBOROUGH — Reggie Gilliam spent the first six years of his NFL career serving as a human battering ram for the Buffalo Bills’ bruising running game.

​By extension, he’s also had a front-row seat to Josh Allen’s development as one of the NFL’s top playmakers and stars over the past half-decade.

​Gilliam — who signed a three-year contract with the Patriots this week — believes his new quarterback is cut from a similar cloth as the former NFL MVP.

​”He’s built just like Josh,” Gilliam said Thursday of Drake Maye. “Yeah, he’s a cool guy. … I’m excited. He’s a young player. When I got to Buffalo, Josh was three years in. Not fully established, but he was already, like, we knew he was going to be a guy. And Drake is obviously the guy here. I’m excited to be with a young quarterback and help him grow.”

​Gilliam may not be a featured piece in New England’s offensive plans. But the physical fullback should add a missing element to the Patriots’ running game moving forward — serving a similar role to the one that James Develin thrived in across seven years in Foxborough. ​

“I love contact,” Gilliam, 28, said. “I’ve always been like that since I was a kid. I remember playing in the backyard with my friends. We would play full tackle, all the way through, no pads, nothing. We’re lowering our shoulders off each other.”

That physicality has been put on display during Gilliam’s NFL career, as he was often tasked with clearing a path for the Bills’ top running back James Cook. With Gilliam opening up running lanes by way of bone-crunching blocks, Cook rushed for an NFL-leading 1,621 yards on the ground in 2025.

​Gilliam will ideally make life easier for New England’s 1-2 punch of Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson in 2026, as well as bolster New England’s success rates on short-yardage plays. The 6-foot scrapper helped Buffalo routinely move the chains off “tush push” plays and other critical offensive sequences in 2025.

Maye and the Patriots’ offense were oftentimes at their best last season when generating explosive plays down the field. But Gilliam is looking forward to giving his new team a physical equalizer in the run game moving forward. ​

“I love to run the ball — not just when the ball’s in my hand — but just running the ball, and especially when the other team knows we’re running the ball,” Gilliam said. “Because it’s like they can know what we’re doing, but they still have to stop us.

“And that’s my favorite thing — when the linebackers are coming downhill, DBs are coming, and you still make a great block, and it’s still a great run. There’s nine guys in the box, and we’re still averaging four yards a pop. So it’s just it has an attitude about it.”

 

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.

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