Peyton Manning praises Drake Maye during Pro Bowl Games: ‘You can tell he’s a natural leader’
Manning offered insight into what he’s seeing from Maye as the rookie quarterback’s Pro Bowl coach.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has impressed this Pro Football Hall of Famer during this week’s Pro Bowl festivities.
Maye, who earned his first Pro Bowl nod this week as an alternate, drew praise from Peyton Manning for his leadership qualities. Manning is this year’s AFC coach.
“You see, Drake, he’s very accountable, you know. When things go well, you see him giving credit to his receivers and linemen. When things don’t go well, you see him starting with himself, right,” Manning said, via the Patriots’ X account. “He threw potentially the game-winning touchdown and didn’t get the two-point conversion. You heard him — it’s all he talked about, was the one that he didn’t get. So I like that. I like guys that are honest and aren’t trying to hide from it. And he owns it.”
Manning may not be the most beloved NFL quarterback among New Englanders, but such a glowing review of Maye from a successful QB like himself is quite meaningful.
Maye participated in Thursday’s Pro Bowl Skills Showdown, namely the “Pass The Test” event for quarterbacks. The 22-year-old struggled during the competition, in which he was tasked with hitting targets that varied in size. Maye finished with the lowest number of points among six participating passers (22).
Despite Maye’s performance, Manning still commended the QB’s arm talent. He noted that New England’s decision to make Maye its starter early on this past season has benefitted his development.
“You can tell he’s a natural leader. And then when you watch him throw … his arm just jumps out at you, and then his athletic ability. And the fact that he got to play so much as a rookie,” Manning said. “I think all those things are just gonna serve him well.”
Maye might have played on a dismal 4-13 Patriots team to kick off his NFL career, but he was one of the team’s few bright spots during the season. He finished the year with 2,276 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, and rushed for two scores himself.
The quarterback’s 10 interceptions are something to work on entering his sophomore season, but there is plenty of optimism surrounding Maye’s ability to improve.
Manning said that above all, Maye possesses qualities that Patriots fans desire in their franchise signal-caller. It sounds like Manning believes Maye has a bright future in New England.
“He’s got a lot of pride, and I think that’s what New England fans want to have, is a quarterback who’s a great competitor that has a lot of pride,” he said. “I think that’ll be good for him.”
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