Drake Maye of the New England Patriots already has superstar potential

There weren't many positives to take away from the New England Patriots' 32-16 loss in Week 7 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. However, rookie quarterback Drake Maye was a major bright spot for the team.

In only his second career start, Maye showed a very strong performance. He took care of his business, but the rest of the team fell short.

In the end, Maye completed 26 of his 37 pass attempts for 276 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also led the team in rushing with three carries for 18 yards.

This statistic alone shows how poorly the team around Maye played. A quarterback who leads the team in rushing with 18 yards is not an ideal situation.

At just 22 years old, Maye is already showing real superstar potential for the Patriots.

New England was heavily criticized by the media for their decision to replace Jacoby Brissett so early in the season. With the offensive line struggling and the wide receivers not playing well, the media felt Maye was thrown to the wolves.

Many young quarterbacks were put on the field too early and were unsettled by sackings or mistakes. Quite a few of these quarterbacks were never able to recover and get their careers back on track.

Maye was nowhere near one of those quarterbacks.

In his first start, he threw two interceptions and was sacked four times. Despite the mistakes he made, his confidence remained high and he made one play after another.

In his second start, Maye picked up where he left off. He played relatively error-free football, taking care of the ball and making plays. The young quarterback has also encouraged his teammates around him.

In two starts and one drive this season, Maye has completed 64.1 percent of his pass attempts for 541 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. His rushing total is 10 carries for 68 yards.

Robert Kraft, Jerod Mayo and Co. couldn't have asked for a better first two games at the start of his career.

So far, he has proven he is capable of being a long-term franchise quarterback. There's still a lot to do and more to prove, but the start to his career has been nothing short of impressive.

Hopefully Maye can continue to play strong football for the rest of the season. As impressive as he has been so far, he is far from reaching his full potential.

Expect Maye to continue to play with confidence and leadership. He's a natural and the Patriots seem to have found gold in him for the future.

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