What Tom Brady learned about Patriots' Drake Maye after chats with Josh McDaniels

Long before second-year New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye became a Most Valuable Player Award candidate while working with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, the combination of McDaniels and living legend Tom Brady helped the Patriots claim six Super Bowl titles over the first two decades of the 2000s. 

During a recent appearance on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" program, Brady revealed what he has learned about Maye via chats with McDaniels.

Drake Maye is "a sponge for information"

"(McDaniels) just talks about his work ethic, his willingness to get better and improve week in and week out," Brady explained, per Chris Mason of MassLive. "He’s a sponge for information, and that’s more important to me than what I see on the film. Because when I hear that, I know that he’s doing the things it takes during the week that are going to show up consistently on the field."

Maye studied film of Brady playing in McDaniels' offense ahead of the season, and the 23-year-old has since won 11 of 13 starts. According to Pro Football Reference, Maye will head into this weekend ranked first in the NFL among qualified players with a 71.5% completion percentage, second with a 111.9 passer rating, second with 3,412 passing yards and third with a 72.1 adjusted QBR. He thus far has tallied 23 touchdown passes with only six interceptions. 

Tom Brady says this Drake Maye ability is "awesome"

"With Drake, he has the physical ability, he has the size...his downfield passing ability is awesome," Brady added during the segment. "Josh McDaniels has done an incredible job this year for the Patriots. Drake is running the same system that I was in. I know how good that system is for quarterbacks, how Josh does teach these young quarterbacks all the different reasons why he’s doing what he’s doing. Why we’re trying to beat this coverage, or how we’re going to protect to give you the best chance to be successful. So he’s in a great system to be successful."

New England and the 11-2 Denver Broncos are battling for the AFC's No. 1 playoff seed. As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the 11-2 Patriots as 1.5-point underdogs for their home game against the 9-4 Buffalo Bills this coming Sunday. Later on Sunday, the Broncos will host the 9-3-1 Green Bay Packers.