Drake Maye New England Patriots
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Former New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman shared the expectations he has for quarterback Drake Maye in his third season.
It was hard not to be impressed and a little surprised by Drake Maye during his second NFL season. After entering with low expectations, Maye took the NFL by storm and finished second in MVP voting while taking the New England Patriots to the Super Bowl. Now, he’s looking to put on an encore.
The season ended up going sideways in the Super Bowl when the offense collapsed under the weight of a struggling offensive line. Former Patriot and three-time Super Bowl Champion Julian Edelman saw that as much as everyone else did.
Recently, Edelman spoke to Patriots Wire at Sam Adams’ Our City, Our Beer event. There, he highlighted how Maye handles the offensive line as the key to his growth as a quarterback now that he is going into his third NFL season.
“Year three, I want to see how he deals with the offensive line when they are not performing at their best,” Edelman said. “There’s going to be times where you can’t get them blocked, but we still got to produce. And I think that’s going to be the natural progression in his progression.”
2026 will be the second year Maye works with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. That should help him be comfortable in the offense. Meanwhile, the team is going to continue to address some weak spots up front.
“Another year in the same system,” Edelman said. “This will be Year Two with Josh McDaniels. I think they’re naturally going to get better together the longer they play together. Seeing him being able to handle those types of situations. We saw him explosive down the field. We saw him dink and dunk with the completion percentage. That was elite. We need to see him when (expletive) hits the fan That’s what I want to see him, when it’s gritty time. Like we saw all Super Bowl. It was tough to block those guys, but we still got to find a way.”
Rob Gronkowski Wants the New England Patriots to Address the Offensive line
Rob Gronkowski
GettyFormer New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski
Another New England Patriots legend, Rob Gronkowski, has taken a keen interest in the team this offseason. In particular, as it relates to the offensive line, he wants to see the team continue adding talent.
“Definitely go out and get another offensive lineman or two just to protect Drake Maye, because that’s where it all starts,” Gronkowski said to Forbes. “If you got a dominant offensive line that can run block and also pass block, then you know you’re going to move that ball down the field and you’re going to have Drake Maye, your star quarterback, comfortable in the pocket at all times. That’s what you want as a football team, absolutely.”
Two of the team’s starting offensive linemen in 2025 were rookies, Will Campbell and Jared Wilson. Both of them should be improved in 2026 with more experience. In particular, if Campbell can be healthier.
The Super Bowl Run Recently Sparked Criticism of Drake Maye
Drake Maye New England Patriots
GettyNew England Patriots QB Drake Maye
A recent piece from The Athletic was highly critical of Drake Maye. This came in the wake of Maye leading the New England Patriots to the Super Bowl, but writer Steven Ruiz has concerns that how he played in the playoffs actually hurt his reputation.
“Drake Maye would have been better off if the Patriots had gone one and done in the playoffs. I don’t know whether we’ve ever seen a quarterback’s reputation take a bigger hit after a run to the Super Bowl,” Ruiz wrote.
“New England’s offense was horribly outmatched against the gauntlet of elite defense it faced in the postseason, and Maye didn’t take advantage of the few opportunities he was given. It was a bad showing for the MVP runner-up.”
It’s true that the final moments of a season or a game can be overly influential in how you remember someone and their play. It’s also not unfair to say that Maye struggled in the playoffs behind an offensive line that was not blocking for him. However, it would be a disservice to discount the massive success he did have, and in just his second NFL season.