7 hours Ago By Conor Ryan
By Conor Ryan Rob Gronkowski acknowledged on Wednesday that the Patriots have a ways to go if they want to reassert themselves as contenders in the NFL. But if there’s one overarching positive to draw from New England’s 2024 season, it’s that the Patriots might have their franchise quarterback already in place in Drake Maye. Speaking ahead of The Sports Museum’s “Tradition” awards ceremony, Gronkowski doled out plenty of praise for New England’s handling of the 22-year-old QB.
And while several teams are seeing benefits from what is looking like a fruitful 2024 NFL Draft, Gronkowski believes Maye is separating himself from the pack. “I appreciated and supported them holding him out and doing that so he could develop and learn,” Gronkowski said. “I feel like that’s why he’s the best quarterback in the draft already right now out of all the rookies.
“He looks like the best player as well because he developed a little bit longer. He wasn’t just thrown out there into all that pressure. To see him holding down the team, he’s probably the best player on the team already and he’s just a rookie.
That’s a good sign for the future.” Maye already has plenty of competition among his peers, with Washington’s Jayden Daniels and Denver’s Bo Nix likely the leaders in the clubhouse for Rookie of the Year honors. Explosive receiver threats like Raiders tight end Brock Bowers and Cardinals wideout Marvin Harrison Jr.
have also made an immediate impact. But Maye has elevated New England’s listless offense since taking over as the team’s QB1 in Week 6. Though seven total games, Maye has completed 66.
7 percent of his passes for 1,236 yards with nine touchdowns and six interceptions. He’s also developed into a potent threat on the ground, gaining 260 rushing yards off of 28 carries (9.3 yards per carry).
While Maye’s athleticism and ability to scramble has alleviated some of the pressure on New England’s offensive line, Gronkowski believes that Maye’s ceiling remains high because of his arm strength and ability to hit receivers in tight windows. . @DrakeMaye2 with a STRIKE to @BournePoly11 !!️ 📺: FOX pic.
twitter.com/63Q38R5LgM “He’s a prototypical quarterback,” Gronkowski said of Maye. “That’s what makes him so great.
The way that he can just sit in a pocket. You see a lot of guys around these days, they scramble right away when the offensive line breaks down. He’s not even scared, he doesn’t even have that good of an offensive line, he’s not even scared to sit in that pocket and do what he needs to do to let the play develop.
” Perhaps the most encouraging development for New England so far in 2024 is that Maye has continued to build his game with each new week. Even though the Patriots came up short to the Rams on Sunday, Maye put together his best performance of the season. He completed 29 of 39 passes for 282 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.
“The first two weeks, it was a little iffy. He just kept having that confidence more and more throughout every week that he was playing,” Gronkowski added. “That’s a good thing to see that he likes to sit in the pocket and be that type of pro-style quarterback who is always a success in the NFL.
On top of that, this guy can roll out right and wing the ball. He can also roll out to his left and wing the ball when needed.” It’s been far from a linear path for Jerod Mayo and the rebuilding Patriots so far in 2024.
Even with Maye’s potential, New England is still 3-8 on the season. Still, former Patriots linebacker/defensive end Rob Ninkovich believes that Mayo and the 2024 Patriots have shown that they’re on the upswing. “I think there’s a managing of expectations here that maybe the fan base and media need to understand, which when you win a lot of football games for a lot of years — yeah, you can get spoiled a little bit,” Ninkovich, who introduced Gronkowski at Wednesday’s event, said.
“And coming into the season, I think they got their quarterback, which was a big question mark. “They didn’t know — what did we have with the No. 3 overall pick? Now you know.
I think there’s a lot of upside there to having Drake Maye as your quarterback. And you go into this offseason with a lot of free-agent money to go and spend some money in free agency, you have a lot of draft picks, and then you have some holes that you’ve got to fill.” Conor Ryan Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.
com, a role he has held since 2023. Boston.com Today Sign up to receive the latest headlines in your inbox each morning.
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