Drake Maye gave New England Patriots fans something to cheer about during an otherwise disappointing 2024 season. In doing so, he silenced the naysayers who were skeptical about him being drafted as the Pats' next franchise quarterback at No. 3 overall.
Maye showed off his dual-threat talent with a 66.6 completion percentage, 2,276 passing yards, 15 touchdown passes, 421 rushing yards, and two rushing TDs. He often drew comparisons to Buffalo Bills star QB Josh Allen with his ability to throw deep downfield or take off running.
NBC Sports' Chris Simms was among those who weren't sold on Maye coming out of the draft. He listed the North Carolina product as the sixth-best QB in his class.
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"You watch the best games in his (college) career, and yeah, you'll see a few of those (great) throws, but for every one of those throws, there's five of, like, what the hell is that throw?" Simms said at the time. "There's no way evaluators, coaches are going to be able to get behind Drake Maye and go, 'Oh yeah, he's ready to go, he should be the No. 2 or No. 3 pick in the draft.' No way! There are too many things about his game that need to be polished, better, improved."
After watching Maye develop as a rookie, Simms is changing his tune. He joined Tom E. Curran's Patriots Talk Podcast from Radio Row ahead of Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans and admitted he was wrong about the young signal-caller.
🔊 Patriots Talk Podcast: Live from the Super Bowl, Chris Simms: Drake Maye's drastic Year 1 improvement 'proved me wrong' | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
"I told you my concerns with him in the draft, he was not my favorite," Simms said. "He definitely fixed some of the things I was worried about, and he proved me wrong."
Simms and Curran agreed that Maye's footwork was a real concern in the spring. Over the course of the 2024 campaign, however, the 22-year-old turned Simms into a believer.
"Drastically," Simms said of Maye's improvement. "The motion got tighter and quicker. The legs and the feet were in the right spot. We knew he had physical ability, but now there was the ability of doing it consistently. And damn, I mean, the athleticism, when he opens up and runs he's one of the faster quarterbacks -- other than Lamar (Jackson) and maybe a few other guys, he's as fast as any other quarterback in football. ...
"Was really impressed with the way he played throughout the year, especially all the big throws down the field. Yeah, looks like I was wrong about that evaluation."
Also in the episode:
- Are the Patriots "back" in the eyes of the NFL with the hiring of Mike Vrabel?
- Why the Patriots should make their best trade offer for Myles Garrett.
- Chris Simms reveals who he's taking in a winner-take-all game: Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes.
- Why Simms is pumped for the Mike Vrabel era in New England.