Throughout the 2025 season, Drake Maye's teammates have raved about how great a leader and teammate he is, and how impressed they are not only with his poise and intellect but also with his performance on the field. It says a lot about a 23-year-old quarterback to have earned such a level of trust and respect from his team in such a short amount of time, and it only furthers that the sky is the limit for the Patriots quarterback.
He's one reason Mike Vrabel wanted to be the next head coach of the team, and he challenged Maye to become a more vocal leader on day one, which he has already. But that might not be enough once the playoffs begin, as he goes into the biggest games of his young NFL career.
It's something wide receiver Stefon Diggs mentioned earlier this week when talking to the media, and he seemed to (somewhat) issue a challenge to the quarterback in the midst of a litany of compliments regarding his demeanor and abilities.
Maybe that will be enough to see another side of Maye come Sunday night.
Stefon Diggs wants to see another side to Drake Maye as he continues to grow in the NFL
Although it wasn't an outright challenge, Diggs' experience in the league has given him a wide knowledge of several quarterbacks and how they operate.
So, hearing that he thinks Maye should up his communication style a little bit "meaner" probably has a good reason behind it.
Stefon Diggs wishes Drake Maye was MEANER when it comes to his leadership style 🤣
— Patriots on CLNS (@PatriotsCLNS) January 7, 2026
"I think at the QB position how you deliver stuff is always important and he does a great job at that. I wish he was a little bit meaner at times. But I think that's a part of just being young."… pic.twitter.com/d36dgae7Lq
With the stakes of Sunday night's game at the highest they have been for the Patriots this year, and even over the last five seasons, there's a chance that the generally quiet quarterback will kick it up a notch and show a side his teammates haven't seen before, and maybe even some, like Diggs, want to see it.
The competitive nature of the game brings that out in many players across every sport, and when done at the right time and in the right way, it can be extremely effective.
Of course, it doesn't necessarily seem to be something that is naturally in Maye's nature, so the likelihood of seeing a "meaner" side seems low, but we haven't seen him in this kind of environment before, and that could certainly change things.
But as Diggs said and has all season long, which was also echoed by plenty of Maye's teammates, what he's already doing has been enough and effective for what the Patriots are trying to accomplish, and it has already created an atmosphere that has them all buying in.
They stand with their quarterback and view him as the leader of the locker room, so whether he gets "meaner" or not on Sunday won't matter; they support him no matter what.