Maye has six turnovers in his first four starts.
Through his first four career starts, New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has flashed plenty of potential. The playmaking rookie has found success pushing the ball downfield, making plays with his legs, and has been one of the best quarterbacks in the league in out of structure situations.
Beyond all the positives, one area for Maye stands out as a need for improvements.
“I’ve got to protect the football. That’s the biggest thing,” he said Wednesday. “I think there’s times where my decision-making, whether it’s ball security in the pocket, and knowing when that timer goes off in my head, little things like that.”
After turning the ball over three times in his first career start, Maye went back-to-back games (including when he left early with a head injury against the Jets) without a turnover.
The ball security issues reappeared in Nashville on Sunday, however, as Maye had three more turnovers (two interceptions, one fumble) against the Tennessee Titans — with his second interception coming to lose the game in overtime.
Since taking over as the starter in Week 6, Maye now leads all starting quarterbacks in turnover-worthy play rate (5.3 percent).
“Just taking the right play is the biggest thing,” Maye said. “Taking an incompletion, that last first-down knowing the situation, or that third-down around midfield, the first interception I threw. Sometimes the punt is not the worst thing there. Maybe you go try to make a play, check down, and get a broken tackle and pick up the first.
“Knowing the situation, what’s the best play for this football team, instead of being as aggressive in certain situations.”
The bumps in the road are expected for rookies — especially in a situation where the 22-year old quarterback is being asked to carry the load on offense. In his three full starts, Maye has averaged over 45 drop backs per game as the New England rushing attack has disappeared. Those drop backs have then come with plenty of pressure.
It’s also the life that comes with a dual-threat playmaking quarterback, a style Maye does not plan on changing anytime soon. But now working through those growing pains in live action, he believes they will only help him become a better player down the road.
“I think you’re growing that and storing these situations in my memory bank for times when, ‘Hey, I did this last time, maybe try a different thing,’ or maybe try to be more conservative, knowing when to attack these football teams because I’m going to be aggressive. I’m that kind of quarterback,” he said.