So often in professional sports, fans and even analysts can be quick to deem an exciting player the second coming of an all-time great, and most of the time, it's far too premature and puts a lot of pressure on that player to keep succeeding at a high level.
Some of that has already been a problem for the Patriots with Drake Maye, who has been labeled the next Tom Brady by some, and while that would certainly be incredible, it's far too early in his career to make such a suggestion. On the other hand, it's not to say he has some traits that the greatest of all time became known for throughout his career.
Although that might not be as thrilling for Patriots fans to hear, hearing from Maye's teammates about some behind-the-scenes stuff that we don't necessarily get to see on the field, and the fact that he already exhibits some traits of the best to play, only raises the ceiling of what he can accomplish in the NFL.
Drake Maye's competitive nature will lead the Patriots to a lot of success
After Sunday's win against the Dolphins, a few of Maye's teammates spoke to MassLive about how competitive the quarterback is with everything, not just football.
Starting center Garrett Bradbury even mentioned that Maye gets really into ping-pong, which the most knowledgeable Patriots fan will remember was also true of Brady during his days in New England.
“His competitiveness comes out every day. Whether we’re playing Ping-Pong, cards, it does not matter. Any sort of game, any sort of activity you can compete in, he’s going to sign up for it.”
During his career, many of Brady's teammates shared similar stories about his competitive antics, no matter what they were playing. We know how that competitive spirit gave the team an edge because he didn't like to lose, no matter what he was participating in, which, of course, led to a lot of success in the NFL.
Maye spoke about that after Sunday's win, sharing that he hates to lose and growing up with older brothers brought that out in him, which can only benefit the Patriots for the foreseeable future.
“If it’s something where you’re keeping score, I’m going to hate losing. I’m going to try to do whatever I can to win. That’s the nature of the game, that’s the nature of the house I grew up in with my brothers, and my dad and mom ... that feeling of winning, there’s nothing like it.”
The team will certainly need that this weekend when they go into their first playoff game since the 2021 season, despite being favored by bettors.
It won't be easy to take down a consistent playoff team with a mostly rested roster, but the Patriots are in good standing to continue defying expectations and win more than anyone could have imagined this year.