Drake Maye was one of the reasons why Mike Vrabel opted to become the next head coach of the New England Patriots, but it also made him deal with a harsh reality.
The new Patriots head coach spoke highly of his QB in an interview with SiriusXM NFL radio on Tuesday, but recognized that there’s a pretty big age gap between the two.
“I think the potential is very high. He’s young, I can tell that when I talk to him. My youngest son is older than Drake. And now I feel really old,” Vrabel said with a laugh.
However, the 49-year-old Vrabel also noted that 22-year-old Maye has been carrying himself like a veteran
“I think that he is very willing to learn and very willing to want to lead and improve in those aspects. [To] do things the right way. Build connections with players and then be able to hold them accountable,” Vrabel said. “I don’t think there’s anything that he can’t do physically. I think he can run, he can move, he can throw the intermediate, he can get the ball out of his hand. I think he’s got great arm talent to throw from different places.”
When one of the hosts interjected to say that the game didn’t seem too big for Maye as a rookie, Vrabel agreed. But he also said that he’s given the young quarterback one pointer.
“He needs to slide,” Vrabel said. “I told him. I sent him a clip of spring training, and there was a team that was sliding on a slip-and-slide. I sent him that, and I said, ‘If you don’t start sliding, we’re going to do this drill.’
“If it’s the goal line, it’s a different story. But I don’t need you trying to make a free safety miss while three other guys are chasing you down. I’m like, please. Get down and save the equipment.”
“My youngest son is older than Drake and now I feel really old.”
@Patriots HC Mike Vrabel discussed how he thinks the potential is very high for QB Drake Maye.
https://t.co/CxDwwjtObe#NFLCombine | #Patriots | #NEPats pic.twitter.com/LMQMdt6js2
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) February 25, 2025
Maye’s ability to run and fight through tackles led to some of the most exciting plays for the Patriots in 2024. There were a couple of downsides to that, though. He suffered a concussion when he fought through a tackle to try and get extra yards on a play that forced him to depart their win over the New York Jets early. Later in the year, he briefly left a game against the Los Angeles Chargers after suffering a blow to the head in a similar circumstance.
Mike Vrabel shares Patriots’ roster plan for Drake Maye
It’s clear that Maye is the face of the franchise and that everything that the team does moving forward will be to maximize the young quarterback’s potential. As the Patriots are armed with over $120 million in cap space and premium draft picks, Vrabel hinted at what the team might prioritize this offseason.
“Well, there’s a lot,” Vrabel said when asked how the team could help Maye. “Again, you always talk about being able to protect him, you have to be able to have some guys that can help him on the edges and be able to make contested catches. And you don’t have to be perfect, right? You don’t have to have perfect ball placement, and those are all things that we talk about trying to support Drake, believing that he is the future of our franchise at quarterback.
“I’ve been able to meet with him and talk with him and just get to know him as a person. But you have to look at the lines of scrimmage, and you look no further than the Super Bowl game where that game was clearly won at the line of scrimmage.”
The Patriots gave up 52 sacks (fifth-worst mark in the league) and were 31s in pass-block win rate in 2024, so they obviously need a lot of help on the offensive line. The good news is that Vrabel likes the talent along the offensive line in this upcoming draft class.
“I think there’s some depth at offensive line,” Vrabel said. “As we head in this process of the draft meetings with the college scouts, which I enjoyed watching through those players and seeing some of the conversions they had and some of the affinity that they had for players on the offensive line as well.”
New England will get a chance to see which offensive linemen it likes the most at the NFL Scouting Combine this week.
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