Patriots

Tom Brady gives Drake Maye advice on navigating NFL as a rookie

"It's not where you're at when you're 22, it's who you're around when you're 22."

Tom Brady offered some perspective and advice for Drake Maye while acknowledging the QB will have to forge his own path. (Photo by China Wong/Getty Images)

By Colin McCarthy

June 15, 2024

Tom Brady was the talk of Foxborough once again, with No. 12 jerseys flooding Gillette Stadium for the quarterback’s enshrinement into the Patriots Hall of Fame.

Those same fans are hoping they have their next franchise quarterback in No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye.

Maye continues to receive praise and buzz from not only fans, but past and present Patriots as well. Brady spoke to Yahoo Sports and added to that positivity, while also giving the rookie a bit of advice.

“I’m very fortunate to be around him, and I like him a lot,” Brady said of Maye. “I’ve heard great things about him. But his opportunity is really going to be what he makes of it, and how he wants to develop it. … It’s not where you’re at when you’re 22, it’s who you’re around when you’re 22.”

.@TomBrady has advice for new Patriots QB Drake Maye 🔥 pic.twitter.com/vrCLnUjGJK
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 14, 2024

“I was so fortunate, I look at my career, I was looking at other competitors like Peyton Manning, Steve McNair, Vinny Testaverde was playing for the Jets, Brett Favre was playing. I was looking around at quarterbacks who were unbelievable, and I had coaches who were unbelievable.”

Of course, Brady also had a solid quarterback ahead of him in New England in former No. 1 pick Drew Bledsoe.

As far as the coaching goes, it’s yet to be seen how impactful Jerod Mayo and his newly assembled staff will fare. But without a doubt, there will be plenty of elite quarterbacks for Maye to eye as he navigates year one in New England.

Josh Allen and Aaron Rodgers reside within the AFC East, and the Patriots will also take on the likes of Joe Burrow, Brock Purdy, C.J. Stroud, and Justin Herbert this season. Those are just a few of the quality quarterbacks Maye will see in-game action, though it’s unclear when, or if, Maye will actually play against those signal-callers, or if he’ll back up Jacoby Brissett.

Regardless, Maye is making strides during offseason workouts, already rising to the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart, taking more reps than Bailey Zappe and Joe Milton, and just shy of Brissett’s snap count.

A stamp of approval and words of advice from the game’s greatest quarterback shouldn’t be taken lightly, so Maye is off to a hot start already in Foxborough.