There's something about Drake
A chat with T.C. McCartney, the man who coached New England Patriots QB Drake Maye his entire rookie season, sheds light on what makes this MVP candidate special.
Fear is palpable. Fear is spreading.
His long ball is a picturesque rainbow. His accuracy is to the inch. His daredevil improvisation renders a perfect defensive call nil. Execs. Coaches. Players. Everyone in the NFL who’s been tortured by one New England Patriots quarterback for two decades is universally slack-jawed at the rise of another. In unison, you can almost hear the rest of the NFL saying the same four words.
They did it again.
Drake Maye is that talented.
All in Foxborough are predictably lavish with their praise. Back to September, current Patriots explained why he’s special. But perhaps the best indicator that Maye is built to last is what you’ll hear from those who no longer call Massachusetts home. Specifically, those coaches fired on Maye’s first staff. It’s the damndest thing, isn’t it? Critics of explosive stories in our Go Long world are so quick to dismiss anything a fired coach has to say as #SourGrapes. They’ve got an #AxeToGrind. Of course, those who choose to read beyond X screenshots access the vivid detail and insight gleaned from such sources. This league isn’t all unicorns and puppies.
Well, here’s a quarterbacks coach who lasted all of one season with the Patriots.
A coach who wasn’t even lucky enough to latch on with another NFL team.
A coach who could be bitter.
And yet, the way T.C. McCartney speaks about Drake Maye? You’d think they were blood.
Drake Maye, the leader. Drake Maye, the quarterback. Drake Maye, the human. He could talk for hours because McCartney witnessed signs of greatness in this 2024 third overall pick.
“Drake is one of the best people I’ve ever met,” McCartney says. “He’s always trying to do the right thing — with little regard for anything else — in all areas of life.”
Years from now, we may look back at 2025 as the birth of another Patriots all-timer.
Perhaps there will books and documentaries documenting what’s happening before our very eyes.
Maye has the opportunity to make Sunday afternoon an MVP moment. His 11-2 Patriots host the reigning MVP: Josh Allen. Dethrone the Buffalo Bills in the AFC East — then demoralize two-time MVP Lamar Jackson the next week? — and the Vegas odds will tilt in Maye’s favor. The road to the Super Bowl may go through Foxborough. You know, like old times. Everything’s ahead of schedule.
And to understand this all, it’s instructive to look back at a ‘24 season that probably won’t be chronicled in those docs.
McCartney worked with Maye day-in, day-out and sees no reason why the 6-foot-4 ½, 227-pounder from North Carolina cannot dominate the sport for the next 10 to 15 years.
“How fast he’s put this together this year?” the coach says. “He’s going to be in that MVP conversation every year. He’s that type of player.”
And then McCartney explains exactly why…
Go Long is your home for longform in pro football.
Here’s our previous features on TreVeyon Henderson escaping demons and sleep paralysis, as well as PATRIOT REIGN.
Toughness
Quarterbacks are drafted in the Top 5 for a reason.
Their new team stinks.
The Fall of Bill Belichick’s empire was uh, well, filthy as seeing a senior citizen date a girl in her 20s.