Drake Maye was watching the NFL Draft when he heard offensive lineman Will Campbell say in his first interview, after being selected No. 4 overall by the New England Patriots, that he’d “fight and die to protect” the young quarterback.
“That gets the juices going,” Maye told reporters Thursday in his first news conference since the season ended. “It makes you want to go out there and play football now. (I’m) pumped that we picked Will.”
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A lot has changed since Maye was last behind the lectern at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots cleaned out the coaching staff, replacing Jerod Mayo with Mike Vrabel. He has a new offensive coordinator in Josh McDaniels. And the roster around him on offense looks wildly different thanks to the addition of Campbell at left tackle, Garrett Bradbury at center, Morgan Moses at right tackle, TreVeyon Henderson at running back and Stefon Diggs at wide receiver.
“I’m pumped,” Maye said. “A lot of new faces, a lot of veterans who played at a high level. We found answers at a lot of different spots that I hope we can plug and play. That’s the point of free agency: get people who can come in here and help us win now. Add that in with some young talent that we’ve had in the past couple drafts, and I think hopefully we’re headed in the right direction.”
LIVE: Drake Maye Press Conference 5/1: https://t.co/x1I4AXChdv
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) May 1, 2025
Maye impressed with a rookie season that passed the eye test more than it did on paper. He started 12 games and completed 67 percent of his passes for 2,276 yards, 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Even if all of those turnovers weren’t directly on him, considering he was playing last season with what was arguably the NFL’s worst offensive line and its worst group of receivers, fixing that has been an area of focus for him in the offseason.
“I think there’s always ways to improve by protecting the football,” Maye said. “Turnovers in this league don’t result in wins. So finding ways like, hey, it’s third down and we’re in field goal range — don’t take a sack. Things like that. Also, protection-wise, (finding) ways to protect myself. It’s going to be new with McDaniels and a new protection scheme, so finding ways to learn the ins and outs and get the guys on the right page.”
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It’s also been fun for Maye, who’s still just 22, to be surrounded by more veterans as the Patriots have overhauled the roster. One of the biggest additions aimed at helping Maye was the one-year contract the team signed with Diggs.
“Had him on my fantasy team and played with him in Madden,” Maye said of his high school days. “So it’s going to be pretty cool to now be throwing to him.”
(Photo: Eric Canha / USA Today)
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