Drew Bledsoe offers advice for Patriots rookie QB Drake Maye

Former New England Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe recently offered some advice for rookie signal-caller Drake Maye after New England made Maye the third pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. 

"He's going to have to have thick skin and be patient," Bledsoe said about Maye during a chat with Mike Reiss of ESPN. "It's not going to happen immediately. He's going to have to be very mentally and emotionally tough to get through some of the hard times — if they even start him right away." 

It is unknown if first-year head coach Jerod Mayo will start Maye right away this September. Maye first met veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett last summer, and New England signed Brissett in March. Mayo acknowledged that Maye "has a lot to work on" before he's ready to face live defenses in meaningful games. It's assumed Brissett will begin training camp as the team's QB1. 

"You have Jacoby there; they're not in a situation where they have to throw him on the field right away," Bledsoe continued. "So I'll be curious to see what they do."

New England made Bledsoe the first pick of the 1993 draft years before the Patriots built a dynasty that won six Super Bowl championships across the first two decades of the 2000s. However, New England missed the playoffs three times across the past four campaigns following the departure of living legend Tom Brady in March 2020. 

"It's different in that the Patriots never really had a ton of success [when I got there]," Bledsoe explained. "They went to the one Super Bowl [in 1985], but other than that had not been consistently relevant. Whereas it wasn't that long ago that they were running the world, so there still is a lingering level of expectation that exists from all that success. That part is a little bit different. But shoot, they earned the right to pick where they picked; it wasn't much to look at last year, that's for sure." 

A perceived lack of talent on offense is one reason some analysts think Maye needs to sit and develop as a backup through at least a portion of this coming fall. As of Monday, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Patriots' over/under win total for the upcoming season at just 4.5. That same outlet had Maye as a +2200 betting underdog to claim the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.