Reggie Gilliam’s Drake Maye quote will make Bills fans squirm

We’re now 33 starts into Drake Maye’s tenure as franchise quarterback of the New England Patriots, and he’s already been compared to a pair of the biggest stars in today's game.

Based purely on demeanor and play style? The most popular comparison is Justin Herbert. Both quarterbacks are smooth operators in the pocket with high-end escapability and the ability to make every throw on the field. Their height and overall cool demeanors are also eerily similar.

Another popular comparison is the one Patriots fans quickly latched onto and refused to let go, and it all started when Maye started doing Josh Allen things — against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football.

Maye’s performance in the second half of that Week 5 win at Buffalo is what cemented the Patriots’ young quarterback as a rising star, and what ultimately launched the team's run to the Super Bowl. Maye stiff-armed defensive tackles, created plays off-script, and made one throw to Stefon Diggs while scrambling toward the right sideline that was vintage Allen.

As Diggs said throughout the 2025 season, Maye doesn’t have to be Josh Allen. He has to be Drake Maye. The player comparisons are a fun discussion from a fan’s perspective, and new Patriots fullback Reggie Gilliam offered up a take that’s sure to make Bills fans squirm.

Gilliam, who spent six seasons with Allen and the Bills, told reporters during his introduction at the Patriots’ facility on Thursday that he met with Maye and was blown away by the 6-foot-4, 230-pound QB’s size.

He then delivered the money quote, per Patriots writer Brian Hines: “Has a lot of the same qualities as Josh.”

Reggie Gilliam just said the quiet part out loud about Drake Maye

Any new players arriving in Foxboro this year via free agency or the draft should take a page out of Gilliam's playbook. If you want to win over Patriots fans from Day 1, say nice things about Drake Maye.

That’s not to say that New England’s newly-signed fullback was putting on a show. 

Maye showcased some of those vintage Allen qualities in 2025, beyond his obvious skills as a dominant run-pass threat under center. Maye showed toughness behind an offensive line that struggled to protect him, routinely standing in and taking the required punishment as he tried to run Josh McDaniels’ complicated offense like a quarterback well beyond his years. He also clearly played through a significant shoulder injury in Super Bowl LX, famously admitting to getting a pain injection prior to the game.

The reality? Maye still has a long way to go to reach Allen’s level. He’ll need to develop his overall leadership skills and command of the offense, and he may be forced to do so in 2026 after the team released Diggs, who in a lot of ways served as the team’s vocal tone-setter. He also doesn’t yet possess Allen’s superpower — the aura to throw on the Superman cape and will the team to victory, like Buffalo did to the Patriots in the second half of their Week 15 rematch in Foxboro.

It’s way too early to call Maye the next Allen, but we’re also talking about a player who doesn’t turn 24 until the end of August. Gilliam put it perfectly. Maye does have a lot of the same qualities as Allen, and it’s what he does next, with the bullseye now firmly on his back, that will ultimately decide his trajectory and true status among the game’s elite.