Drake Maye has been straight-up awesome for the New England Patriots to start the 2025 season. He’s been looking exactly like the 3rd overall pick the team expected him to develop into. He currently ranks in the top 10 in the league in passing yards and touchdowns, and is even top 5 in QBR.
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What’s funny about this, though, is that the Pats’ former legendary coach, Bill Belichick, saw most of this coming. In the first season where he wasn’t in the draft room with the team in 24 years, Belichick took the time to highlight the pros and cons of Maye as a draft selection. What he assessed proves that he’s an amazing evaluator of talent.
Belichick started by talking about how Maye can make big plays.
“He makes some big plays like this. This is an amazing play where he kind of throws going backwards, puts the ball right on the money. Those are the highlight plays that you really like from Maye,” Belichick assessed on The Pat McAfee Show.
Today, Maye has also been making a name for himself with big plays. In fact, he has over a 70% completion rate on throws of 20+ air yards this season. For context, the league average is 40% this year.
However, there was some inevitable downside that Belichick spotted in Maye’s game at the time.
“This is one where he just doesn’t really finish the play. He’s got double coverage here on the slot receiver, got guys open inside and outside, and just throws it into double coverage. So, again, he’s going to need some work in reading defenses and coverages,” Belichick professed.
It wasn’t just his questionable decision-making, though. The legendary coach also noted that Maye didn’t always throw to his receivers unless they were clearly open.
“He’s quick to come off the receiver… They’re not going to get open by like 8 yards in the NFL, so just, you’ve got to deliver it in there. He’s kind of quick to bail out of the pocket, and I think he’s going to have to hang in there a bit longer and find those receivers,” Belichick added.
This seems to be a habit that Maye has corrected in his second year in the NFL. So far, he’s leading the league in completion percentage, showing that he’s not afraid to throw to wideouts with minimal separation. He’s also taken 22 sacks, which is a side effect of his newfound willingness to hang in the pocket, allowing plays time to develop.
This is why Belichick liked a lot about Maye at the time, because he knew the quarterback would develop nicely.
“This is a kid that can make all of the throws, but he just needs to be more consistent,” Belichick stated, before making his final assessment later on. “Transitioning from a college quarterback to a pro quarterback, you know, he just needs some time and experience.”
It’s exactly what most young quarterbacks need. There’s nothing that helps a player improve more than live, in-game reps. Now, with those reps under his belt, Maye is beginning to thrive as a player who sees the whole field and isn’t afraid to air it out.
Bills Belichick’s initial take on Drake Maye after the was selected 3rd overall to the Patriots. pic.twitter.com/RKzZhfzbUj
— Savage (@SavageSports_) October 22, 2025
Maybe the most interesting part of the flashback to Belichick’s draft night assessment was how his take was hated by many Pats fans at the time. But now, most of what he said seems true.
“I know hating on Bill is easy right now, but this assessment isn’t wrong,” one wrote under the resurfaced video on X.
“He can make all the throws, just needs to clean things up.. good assessment tbf,” another stated.
I know hating on Bill is easy right now but this assessment isn’t wrong.
— ChirpnUSA (@ChirpnUSA) October 22, 2025
One fan even pointed out that because Belichick coaches mostly pocket quarterbacks that some of his takes may have been a bit misleading.
“He’s not wrong at all. Actually, a very good assessment. Drake still does this from time to time and has had some highlights doing so. Bill comes from a pocket QB philosophy, so I get it. Drake will improve and continue to develop,” they shared.
All in all, it’s just a fun look back at what Belichick had to say about the Patriots’ first draft selection without him at the helm. After all, he had a lot to say, and today, most of it has been proven true. Like the fans say, it’s easy to hate on Bill right now, but most still admit that he’s a football mastermind.
Maye, for his part, has been a home run of a pick for the Pats and could be piloting them into a new era. It feels a bit unfair for a franchise that just experienced Tom Brady, but it’s the way of the game, and fans will just have to live with it. Some teams are great at scouting quarterbacks and will always have a great one. New England seems like that type of team.
