Patriots TE expands on how Drake Maye has grown as a leader

A significant storyline that hovered over the New England Patriots throughout the offseason involved first-year Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel making it clear that he wanted second-year quarterback Drake Maye to improve as a leader. 

Coming off the club's 31-13 win at the Tennessee Titans that improved the Patriots to 5-2 on Sunday, New England tight end Austin Hooper touched upon how Maye is becoming what Vrabel had in mind during springtime and summer workouts. 

Drake Maye demanding more of his Patriots teammates

"Seeing where he’s at now, seeing the leadership, seeing the command in the huddle, seeing him be willing to say, 'Hey, insert name, I need this like this.' Just subtle things like that," Hooper said about Maye, per Chris Mason of MassLive. "Where it’s just showing, like, 'Hey, if you want the ball, this is what I expect,' in a very nice Drake way. Just getting the point across of like, 'Hey, this is what I need from you to get whatever done.'" 

It was suggested in the summer that Maye hadn't yet "fully accepted" embracing his role as the CEO of the New England offense. Such chatter has since disappeared now that he's in the middle of a four-game winning streak. 

Against Tennessee, Maye set a franchise record for the highest completion percentage in a single game (with a minimum of 20 attempts) when he connected on 21-of-23 passes (91.3 percent) for 222 yards and two touchdowns. ESPN stats show that he began Monday ranked fifth in the league among qualified players with a 77.1 adjusted QBR and sixth with 1,744 passing yards on the campaign. 

As of Monday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had Maye fourth among the betting favorites at +950 odds to claim the MVP Award for the ongoing regular season. He had other things on his mind when he presented Vrabel with a game ball following the Patriots' win over the Titans, the franchise that fired Vrabel in January 2024. 

Drake Maye "has a little more swag to him" in second season

"So from that standpoint, you definitely see the growth," Hooper continued. "You see the comfortability coming off the rookie year. Shoulders are a little lower, has a little more swag to him, and has confidence. Pitchers, quarterbacks, kickers: It’s a confidence game. That’s why you gotta build up our guy, and he’s got a ton of talent, and we believe in him."

Maye will look to build up additional confidence when the Patriots host the Cleveland Browns (2-5) on Oct. 26. On Monday, ESPN BET had New England as a 7.5-point favorite for that game.