Drake Maye has all the makings of a star quarterback. As our Tom E. Curran wrote Monday, the New England Patriots rookie is an "honest-to-God, can’t-screw-him-up, surefire franchise messiah."
But Maye still has one obvious weakness, and it's protecting the football.
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The 2024 third-overall pick has a whopping 12 turnovers -- seven interceptions and five fumbles -- in seven NFL starts. He's committed at least one turnover in every full game he's played except one (Week 7 against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London) and has turned the ball over multiple times in four separate games.
Which is why his response Tuesday when asked if he's confident he'll be able to cut back on turnovers going forward might raise some eyebrows.
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"Yeah, I think I'm not too worried about turnovers," Maye told reporters. "Obviously, putting the ball in harm's way is a big emphasis for a football team as a quarterback. But I think when you're trying to fight back, you're trying to make some plays, some of them happen."
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You could view that answer as a sign that Maye is too cavalier with the football. But it's the latter half of his response that's most important: In many cases, Maye's turnovers are a byproduct of his playmaking ability and trying to get his team back in the game with a dynamic play.
Consider this: Veteran QB Jacoby Brissett threw just one interception in five games as the Patriots' starter early this season. New England averaged 12.4 points per game in that span. In Maye's six full games, which feature those seven interceptions, that number jumps to 19.8 and includes a pair of wins over the New York Jets and Chicago Bears.
Make no mistake: Maye absolutely needs to cut back on turnovers if the Patriots want to be a winning football team in the future. And the 22-year-old rookie did acknowledge the importance of taking care of the football.
"I do think, back on my statement, I am worried about turning the football over," Maye added. "That's a problem. But at the end of the day, you can't turn the football over, especially -- I think we're losing the turnover margin in most of the games with me back there, so that's something I need to improve on."
Point taken. But part of what makes Maye dynamic is his fearlessness: getting the ball out quickly, taking shots down the field and using his athleticism to scramble when the play breaks down. There's a fine line between fearlessness and recklessness, of course, but Maye maintaining an aggressive edge is better than him second-guessing himself for fear of making the wrong play.
Maye has drawn many comparisons to Buffalo Bills Pro Bowler Josh Allen early in his career, and in case you're curious, Allen committed 20 turnovers (12 interceptions; eight fumbles) in 12 games as a rookie. He now leads one of the NFL's most dynamic offenses in Buffalo, which has a 9-2 record entering Week 13.
If early-career turnovers are a consequence of Maye developing into an Allen-like franchise quarterback, that's a trade-off the Patriots should be willing to take.
