New England Patriots - NESN.com
Drake Maye opened eyes across the country after delivering in a crucial primetime win for the New England Patriots.
The 23-year-old quarterback continued a superb start to his second season on Sunday night, leading New England to a 23-20 win over the previously undefeated Buffalo Bills. Maye completed 22 of 30 passes for 273 yards in an upset at Highmark Stadium.
Maye earned some new admirers after the “Sunday Night Football” showcase. Greg Olsen may have rapidly accelerated the hype train with his post-game comments.
The former Pro Bowl tight end, now an NFL color commentator for Fox, excited Patriots fans with a lofty assessment of Maye’s upside while appearing on Monday’s “Wake Up Barstool.”
“Last night he looked like he’s going to be the best quarterback in the league,” Olsen said. “He’s that good.”
Olsen, who spent most of his career with the Carolina Panthers, said he watched Maye play high school football and basketball in Charlotte. He called Maye a “sick athlete” and isn’t surprised by the 2024 first-round pick’s success.
The 40-year-old continued to gush over Maye’s Week 5 performance, asserting that New England’s signal-caller outplayed Bills superstar Josh Allen in the AFC East showdown.
“He’s physical. He’s tough. He can run the ball,” Olsen said of Maye. “I mean, he’s everything you want (from) a young quarterback coming into the league in today’s world. Play from the pocket, play outside the pocket. Play scramble drill, designed runs, scrambled runs. Physical, smart as hell, normal dude.
“He checks every box. He was arguably the best player on the field against the MVP. He was that good.”
Maye still has more left to prove before joining the likes of Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow among the NFL’s top-tier quarterbacks. Yet he has shown significant promise to start the 2025 season.
Through five weeks, Maye is second to Jared Goff in completion percentage (73.9) with the league’s sixth-best quarterback rating (107.8). Even if he’s not the best quarterback in the league just yet, Maye is looking like a legitimate franchise fixture under center.
