SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — When Drake Maye thinks about what it took for him to make it to the Super Bowl in just his second NFL season, his mind drifts to some of the stiffest competitions he’s ever faced.
“I just think every two-on-two basketball (game) in the backyard probably prepared me for this,” the New England Patriots quarterback said. “The joy of it, but kind of the feeling you get of accomplishing something, me beating my older brothers or just having an opportunity to compete at a high level.”
Those siblings — Luke, Cole and Beau — never took it easy on the youngest of the Maye boys. It made Drake want to follow in their footsteps as college athletes. Luke and Beau shined on the basketball court at North Carolina. Cole won a baseball national title at Florida.
Maye will now get the chance to achieve on a level none of them have when he leads the Patriots into their Super Bowl matchup with the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
The narrative surrounding New England’s 12th Super Bowl appearance has largely centered on the similarities between this team and the one Tom Brady led to the franchise’s first Lombardi Trophy in his second season in 2001. But there are also many differences.
Maye has a long way to go before he gets close to replicating Brady’s success. Still, after initial failed attempts by the Patriots to fill the future Hall of Famer’s shoes, Maye is looking like a worthy successor.
Yes, like Brady, Maye’s hit a stride in his second season. But he’s also following his own path.
Brady grew up a California kid wanting to be Joe Montana but wasn’t drafted until the sixth round. Maye was the No. 3 overall draft pick out of North Carolina who watched the Patriots beat his Panthers in the first Super Bowl he saw in person. That game took place in the same stadium where he’ll now play his first Super Bowl.
Maye has tried to avoid the spotlight during his breakout season, though it hasn’t prevented him from earning the respect of teammates who believe his best football is yet to come.
As even-keeled as Maye has been throughout this season, they have seen his emotions dial up at times.
“After a win. Especially after the AFC championship win when he’s running for the first down (that helped secure the win),” receiver Stefon Diggs recalled. “He’s just a quarterback who kind of gives the credit to everybody else. But as a receiver, I’d like to give him more credit than everybody takes. He can run, he can throw, he can jump and can cut. He can make people miss. He does a lot from that quarterback position that’s truly special. When you see that guy get emotional, it’s more on the good side.”
Maye’s leadership abilities have also been refreshing to those around him.
When Patriots coach Mike Vrabel surveyed the NFL landscape in search of a new team, one of the things he hoped to find was a team with a young quarterback that he felt he could build around.
It didn’t take him long to see something special in Maye.
“I think I probably realized that before I got here. That’s a large part of the reason that I wanted to be here,” Vrabel said.
Then he got a chance to see him in person.
“There were plays in training camp and things that he did,” Vrabel said. “I think the thing was the accuracy outside of the pocket or on the move, the way he plays the position, he has an athletic nature to the way that he plays the position. So, I think that’s somewhat unique.”
Maye has also demonstrated his running ability. Though his ability to make clean slides has been an issue at times, he rushed for 450 yards and four touchdowns during the regular season.
He’s posted 141 rushing yards and a touchdown in the playoffs, adding a dimension to his game that offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has been more than willing to work into his scheme.
Maye’s scrambles in the AFC championship game win over Denver helped the Patriots find offense in a game dominated by defense. That could again be the case against Seattle on Sunday.
“Now that I’m in the NFL now, I’m just trying to model my game after myself,” Maye said. “There’s things you try to take from players. But I wouldn’t say I’m trying to model my game after anybody anymore. I’m at the stage now where I’m an NFL quarterback and trying to make a name for myself.”
