Three weeks into the 2026 season, it's hard to imagine anyone could have predicted that Drake Maye would face harsh scrutiny for his performance and that members of the media would come to his defense with actually sane takes.
For the most part, analysts and fans, even those in New England, have been piling on the 24-year-old for throwing six interceptions to just one touchdown in three games so far, not looking like the quarterback who was the runner-up to the MVP Award just last year.
Because misery loves company, it's not exactly shocking that Maye is being piled on; while some of it is certainly warranted, given how poorly he has performed so far, it also leaves out much of the context that is inevitably contributing to his struggles.
That's not being discussed much in the ongoing negative discourse around the Patriots and Maye, especially among those already demanding he be benched or that the team start looking for their next starter. But they're overlooking factors that would otherwise be talked about if this were any other quarterback, which, surprisingly, is something Max Kellerman, of all people, talked about on his recent podcast.
If you told any Patriots fan that Kellerman would be the guy voicing the most honest and sane take about any player, but especially Maye, before the season began, they surely wouldn't believe you, and it's still hard to believe it's real.
Yet that's the reality going into Week 4.
Max Kellerman actually defends Drake Maye in the best way possible
On a new episode of his Game Over podcast, Kellerman doesn't sugarcoat that Maye hasn't started the 2026 season well and emphasizes that he's not necessarily defending his play so far.
But he also knows the Patriots' current offense has a lot wrong with it, starting with a lack of an explosive wide receiver and a struggling offensive line, which is made worse by expectations for young quarterbacks who historically haven't started their first season, never mind dealing with the pressure that Maye is under after taking the team to the Super Bowl in Year 2.
Other than falsely claiming he was crying on the sideline, I’m shocked Max Kellerman has the sanest take on Drake Maye right now. #NEPats pic.twitter.com/kE1qxUWYwu
— Sara Marshall (@smarshxo) September 29, 2026
Because success is expected in New England after a two-decade-long dynasty, quarterbacks expected to be the starter after Tom Brady, probably until the end of time, are going to be subjected to harsh scrutiny unless they can somehow come close to replicating the kind of success the GOAT accomplished.
Although Maye was drafted four years after Brady left, Cam Newton and Mac Jones's failures have fans scrambling for a real franchise quarterback, so seeing Maye perform at such a high level so quickly led many to believe he was the real deal and ready to rival the league's best signal callers.
From what we've seen, we have no reason to believe that he isn't the real deal or the right guy for the Patriots, but leaving out that he had limited starting experience in college, started his NFL career under a chaotic Jerod Mayo regime, and hasn't been given the best offensive roster to work with is unfair.
That remains true at the start of the 2026 season, especially now that A.J. Brown is sidelined with an injury and Romeo Doubs hasn't been better than Kayshon Boutte, whom they presumably signed to be his replacement.
Instead, Maye is dealing with a struggling offensive line that must continue without Mike Onwenu, wide receivers who can't gain separation, and a failed run game the offense can't rely on at all.
This doesn't mean the quarterback is immune from criticism; he's clearly shown he makes bad decisions, throws bad passes, and tries to force plays where there isn't one to be made. He's not off the hook by any means.
But ignoring the entire picture, on top of the difficult position Maye has been put into as a young quarterback, which historically wasn't the case for them, which Kellerman pointed out, doesn't paint the entire picture of what is going on with the Patriots so far this season.
Given what Maye has done for the team in just two years, he deserves more understanding and time to get things right before the Patriots and their fans put him on the back burner.
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