Santa Clara (United States) (AFP) – In just his second NFL season, 23-year-old Drake Maye can make history Sunday as the youngest quarterback ever to win the Super Bowl. But for the New England Patriots prodigy, following in the intimidating footsteps of all-time great Tom Brady, even that would be just the beginning of the journey. “I don’t think you play this game and play this position, not trying to become an NFL all-time great,” Maye told AFP on Wednesday. “I think the only way to do that is win more games. So I think, focus on this one here, and get back to work. That’s the biggest thing.”
North Carolina-born Maye was the third overall pick in the 2024 draft, quickly becoming the Patriots’ starting quarterback. But this year has been his true breakout season. “He has an athletic nature to the way that he plays the position that’s somewhat unique,” head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters. “He’s comfortable in the pocket. I think his ability to transfer up into the pocket, to make moves, to make throws off-platform and at different angles — it’s been impressive.”
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The praise is more than borne out by the stats. This year Maye threw for 31 touchdowns, managing the league-best completion percentage (72 percent) and yards per pass attempt (8.9), and rushed for four more. Four of his touchdowns have come in Maye’s first ever playoff run, including three in a dominant win over the Houston Texans. And Maye showed experience beyond his years to steer the Patriots to a game-winning field goal in the blizzard-hit low-scoring AFC Championship games against the Denver Broncos. The laid-back, devout Christian was reliably referred to as “our leader” by even his older Patriots teammates in several interviews this week. “He’s very mature. I was with him last year, I think he made a great jump this year,” running back Rhamondre Stevenson told AFP.
A Super Bowl win against the Seattle Seahawks would make Maye’s sophomore season truly historic. He is already the second-youngest starting quarterback to reach a Super Bowl, after Dan Marino with the Miami Dolphins in 1985, and would be the youngest to win if the Patriots prevail. But he told AFP on Wednesday that his goals go much further. “Any limits to my ambition? I think why would you limit yourself in any way?” he said. “Try to reach your full potential and do whatever you can to reach the highest.” That could even include a surprise bid to play for Team USA in flag football’s debut at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, he revealed. “I think it’d be an honor to play for my country in any way,” he said. “I know there’s a lot of great players out there that would love to play, and I know quarterback is one of those positions that only a couple can play. But I know I’d be honored and proud to play.”
Back in the present, Maye has brushed off concerns that a minor shoulder injury and illness this past week could impact his first game on football’s biggest stage. Veteran Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels warned that his youthful quarterback can still get substantially better. “Quarterbacks are never a finished product, and certainly not in their second year,” he told AFP. “So a long way to go. A lot of things he knows he’s going to be able to improve on, we’ll look at those in the offseason.” But as for now, “it’s really all about preparing for one game, one team, one opponent.”
© 2024 AFP
