Bill Simmons compares Drake Maye to former All-Pro QB with strange career trajectory
"He is an unbelievable athlete. Could he be like a mini Josh Allen someday? I don’t know."
Drake Maye still has a way to go when it comes to realizing his potential as one of the most gifted quarterbacks in the NFL.
But the Patriots signal caller’s strong arm and ability to extend plays with his scrambling ability has led to some NFL pundits like Dan Orlovsky drawing comparisons between the second-year pro and reigning MVP Josh Allen.
But longtime Boston sports scribe and The Ringer founder Bill Simmons has a differing opinion as to which NFL QB Maye reminds him off.
“Don’t take this the wrong way,” Simmons said during Sunday’s episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast”. “I don’t want to scare you, because I like Drake Maye. He’s got a little young Carson Wentz to his game. Remember when Carson Wentz was good? …. MVP candidate. And you saw the highs, but there would be a couple plays every game where you’re like, ‘Dude … what was that? Yeah, don’t do that.’ [Maye’s] got a little bit of that.”
Wentz is an interesting comparison to Maye, given the former Eagles QB’s up-and-down journey in the NFL ranks.
Drafted second overall in the 2016 NFL Draft out of North Dakota State by Philadelphia, Wentz looked like one of the top young QBs in the league during his first few seasons in the pros.
He was a viable MVP candidate as a second-year pro during the 2017 season — throwing for 33 touchdowns and just seven interceptions over 13 games before missing the rest of the year due to a torn ACL. The Eagles went on to win the Super Bowl later that season, with backup Nick Foles outdueling Tom Brady and the Patriots in Super Bowl LII.
Even with a few solid seasons with Philadelphia in 2018 and 2019, Wentz never regained his form as a franchise fixture at QB with the Eagles — eventually getting benched in favor of Jalen Hurts during the 2020 season. Wentz was traded to the Colts ahead of the 2021 season, and has played for four different teams over the last four seasons.
The Patriots are hoping that Maye avoids a similar fate as far as injuries and regression, but Simmons believes that Maye’s potential is still high — even if he can get knocked for costly turnovers.
“But I have a Drake Maye stat you’re gonna love,” Simmons said. “There’s this stat I like called success rate. All it looks at is when a guy drops back, was it a positive play for the offense, or a negative play? So … a 50-yard completion is treated the same as a 12-yard completion, but it’s just good for like, ‘how consistent is this guy?’”
“If you look at every rookie quarterback over the last 10 years, he [ranked] fourth out of 31 rookie quarterbacks … in success rate last year,” Simmons added.
As Maye looks to clean up his game and limit the miscues that reared their head during Friday’s preseason game against Washington, Simmons believes that Maye’s dual-threat capabilities make him a unique player who could thrive in what should be a run-heavey offense in 2025.
“I don’t think people realize how fast he is,” Simmons said, adding: “They ran one play in the preseason where they did the classic video game play. They sent the receivers out and cleared out a side of the field, and he ran, and … he is an unbelievable athlete. Could he be like a mini Josh Allen someday? I don’t know. But I think they’re gonna be taking advantage of the legs.”
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com