Patriots' Drake Maye's Maturity, Mentality Impressing Veteran Garrett Bradbury

One of the Patriots' additions this offseason was center Garrett Bradbury. The veteran center spent the first six years of his career with the Minnesota Vikings before signing with New England. On Friday, the Patriots' new center spoke with the media and gave his impression of the young quarterback he'll be snapping the ball to in 2025.

"I can't believe how mature he is at such a young age," Bradbury said (h/t ESPN.com). "I spent a lot of time with him this spring and I have to remind myself he's 22. In terms of his approach and his mentality, he doesn't act like a 22-year-old. He understands the weight of the position he plays."

Part of Maye's maturity and mentality comes from his new head coach, Mike Vrabel. The former Patriots' linebacker challenged Maye early on in the offseason to grow in his leadership as he heads into his second year, and first full year as the man in charge of the offense.

That challenge led to Maye leading conditioning drills during OTAs and minicamp and gathering his teammates for extra workouts and informal practices during the time off between Spring practices and training camp.

Maye's mentality is always trying to improve, and that's exactly what you want in a young quarterback. This offseason, Maye began asking Bradbury about veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins, as the center snapped to Cousins for five years in Minnesota.

Cousins has played 13 years in the NFL and made four Pro Bowls, and Maye wanted to learn more about the veteran's approach to the game.

"He's always picking my brain. I got to play with Kirk Cousins for a long time -- he's a pro's pro, did everything the right way -- and [Drake] will say 'What would Kirk think of this? What were his preparations like with this?'" Bradbury said. "So any way I can help him, that's why I'm here. Because I think everyone knows he has a bright future."

Maye has made an impact on his teammates this offseason and earned the respect of the newcomers and veterans around him. Through the first week of training camp, Maye has looked comfortable and confident, although it's hard to judge that performance too much.

The Patriots made a lot of improvements to their roster this offseason, and after back-to-back four-win seasons, there's a lot of hope in 2025. It all starts with the young quarterback under center, and all signs point to development this offseason.