Patriots Defender Makes Bold Drake Maye Declaration

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye certainly showed flashes of brilliance last season, displaying true dual-threat capabilities during his rookie campaign.

Maye's performance wasn't lost on linebacker Jack Gibbens, who faced the former No. 3 overall pick during a Week 9 overtime matchup while playing for the Tennessee Titans last year.

Gibbens signed with the Patriots in free agency, and he already seems pumped to play with Maye heading into 2025.

“Definitely came out of that game with a ton of respect for him, the team as a whole, just kind of how they fought,” Gibbens told reporters. “And Drake specifically, his mobility was on full display against us. We couldn’t keep him in the pocket. He was running all over us.”

During that game, which ended up being a 20-17 win for the Titans, Maye went 29-for-41 with 206 yards, a touchdown and a couple of interceptions while carrying the ball eight times for 95 yards.

It marked the only time all season that Maye threw more picks than touchdowns, but his outing was still enough to leave quite an impression on Gibbens.

“You could see kind of the competitiveness, the creativity he has with that last touchdown, scrambling around, making it happen,” added Gibbens. “So, definitely came out of there with a lot of respect for his game and the team as a whole, for sure.”

Overall in 2024, Maye totaled 2,276 yards, 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while completing 66.6 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 88.1. He also rushed for 421 yards and a couple of scores while averaging 7.8 yards per carry.

Meanwhile, Gibbens spent three years in Tennessee and is coming off of a season in which he registered 44 tackles and a half of a sack in 10 games.