Longtime coach compares Patriots' Drake Maye to two legends

Before current North Carolina Tar Heels senior adviser Clyde Christensen worked with New England Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye during the 2023 college season, he coached legendary QBs Peyton Manning and Tom Brady throughout his lengthy NFL tenure.  

During a Friday video conference with New England media members, Christensen compared Maye to both Manning and Brady. 

"He processes information extremely well, a lot like Peyton," Christensen said about Maye, as shared by Sean T. McGuire of NESN. "He has a humbleness and a humility like Tom. Players play for him. He has that kind of humility that just attracts teammates and he’s going to be a great teammate."

Jerod Mayo mentioned last week that Maye having "great leadership skills" was a reason why the Patriots head coach is comfortable with letting the first-year pro compete with veteran Jacoby Brissett for the New England starting job this summer. Others in the NFL community aren't quite as high on Maye this spring. 

It was learned on Friday that the Washington Commanders ranked new Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy ahead of Maye leading up to the draft. At least one NFL executive thinks the Patriots should've accepted assets offered by the New York Giants for what became the Maye draft pick. 

"There’s nobody in our locker room where you would find a bad word about him," Christensen said about Maye. "And he just fits in. He’s one of the guys and yet he’s able to lead and rally people together and call people out if you need to, but he does it in a good way."

Christensen acknowledged that Maye "has a different style" than Brady. For example, Maye recorded 1,209 rushing yards during his college career. Brady, meanwhile, rushed for 1,123 yards as an active NFL quarterback from 2000 through the 2022 campaign. 

"But I think he does have that awareness of what’s going on around, which is huge," Christensen added about Maye. "It’s a huge thing to have. ...I don’t think that’s a small characteristic to share with Tom. Tom was a savant at that, just could read the sideline and he could be as patient as anyone I’ve seen and could be boisterous in getting people going."

The Patriots have been searching for a long-term Brady replacement since the seven-time Super Bowl champion signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in March 2020. Fair or not, Maye had better get used to hearing his and Brady's names linked with each other until further notice.