K.J. Osborn sees flashes of Tom Brady from young Patriots quarterback

The focus of most draft class evaluations surrounded the top quarterbacks projected to be at the top of the pack, as they were expected to be the first handful of picks off the board and they were considered one of the more talented groups of the last few years.

Besides knowing that Caleb Williams would go first overall, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye received the most conversation, with who was believed to be the second-best quarterback of the class constantly interchanging by the week. Fortunately for the Patriots, they were able to draft the guy they wanted from the beginning since Daniels went to Washington one pick before.

The former UNC tar heel was highly touted with a higher projected ceiling than was ever discussed about Mac Jones, who had already been traded to the Jaguars to officially usher in the beginning of the Drake Maye era in New England.

Because of that, expectations were high for the quarterback coming into training camp, which he wasn't able to live up to from the start.

He has since shown the electric play he became known for in college, closing the gap between him and Jacoby Brissett, the presumed Week 1 starter.

He has impressed so much that he might make the QB1 decision much harder for Jerod Mayo and Co. to decide, and based on one factor that has stood out to his teammates, one of whom compared to a legendary quarterback, his potential might be too good to pass up to start the season.

K.J. Osborn compares aspects of Drake Maye's game to that of a legendary Patriots quarterback

Among the various skills that has impressed Maye's teammates is his ball placement, which had K.J. Osborn raving about earlier this week after practice.

It stood out to him after the quarterback threw the football away from defenders for Osborn to grab, something that has become more of a talking point about quarterbacks needing to implement more on game day.

It made such an impression on the receiver that he compared Maye to his former signal caller, Kirk Cousins, and topped it off by comparing that part of Maye's game to Tom Brady, who was known for trying to direct pass catchers away from defenders.

"I think that's what good quarterbacks do. If I'm speaking about my past, that's something I used to talk to Kirk (Cousins) about -- just not getting you killed.

I think you heard Tom Brady talk about that. With football now, it's on the quarterback to not get these guys killed. So the ball may be behind you, and people say, 'Oh, he threw a bad ball.' But he's trying not to get the guy killed. He wants you to catch it and go down. Things like that, flashes that you see (from Maye), I think that's good."

It's not surprising to hear that Maye has already picked up something or even improved a skill he possessed since signing with the Patriots earlier this year, as coaches and teammates have applauded him for his work ethic.

On top of that, we saw firsthand how quickly he picked things up during his cameo on Hard Knocks earlier this year, a clip that went viral because of how impressive Maye looked.

But this makes part of his skillset even more remarkable to hear him compared to the greatest of all time and Cousins. It brings more excitement and optimism to the future of the Patriots offense, which has been seriously lacking since that quarterback left the team in 2020.

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