Drake Maye's first start has everyone talking.
The New England Patriots rookie quarterback made his first start last week with mixed results.
On one hand, he had three touchdowns and some impressive throws while evading pressure. But the No. 3 overall pick did have two interceptions and lost a fumble in the Patriots' blowout loss.
Still, even with the up-and-down debut, many are excited for the future after seeing Maye in action -- including Jason McCourty. The former Patriots cornerback and Super Bowl champion is among those who saw something in the 22-year-old QB.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
"I actually went back and I watched that game yesterday," McCourty said in an interview with NBC. "His throw to Kayshon Boutte down the sideline, I think if you're a Patriots fan and you see that the first thing that comes to mind is like, 'All right, we got a guy. We have somebody that can get in there and make every single throw.'"
Making every throw is one thing, but there's more to being a successful quarterback than just arm talent.
In Maye's situation, he's dealing with a group of inexperienced offensive linemen who have been pressed into roles that they weren't expected to fill going into the season. Still, McCourty was impressed by Maye's ability to stand in and take hits while being surrounded by an unproven cast of teammates.
NFL
"I think the second thing was toughness," McCourty explained. "We have a guy that's willing to stay in the pocket, stay in the game. He got absolutely crushed, I think it was Danielle Hunter or Will Anderson, as he was throwing and you see his arm go back and he gets up and he continues to fight through the game.
"And I think the third thing you start to realize as you're watching it is, my goodness, he's going to need a lot of help because that is not a team with a ton of talent on it right now. There were some drop passes, guys aren't always getting open. And then obviously the protection issues, they've had so many different combinations of offensive linemen so far throughout this season. But I think you watch that and you're like, 'We have a quarterback that we think we can build on for the future.' So, now it's how fast you can get the pieces around him to see how good this team can get."
McCourty is experienced when it comes to young quarterbacks. Unlike his twin brother, Devin, who played his entire career with the Patriots and most of that time with Tom Brady, Jason cycled through inexperienced signal-callers early in his career.
Over his first eight seasons with the Tennessee Titans, McCourty played with two rookie quarterbacks drafted in the top-10 — Jake Locker (2011) and Marcus Mariota (2015). Neither ended up succeeding relative to their draft profile, but McCourty said just their presence alone is enough to rejuvenate a team — which is what Maye could be doing for New England.
"It gives you hope," McCourty said. "When you have a young guy, you know there's going to be mistakes. But if you have somebody back there that you feel like has a little bit of that 'it' factor.
"In Tennessee, it didn't really work out with Jake Locker while I was there and it didn't work out with Mariota when I was there. But I was going against a guy, Andrew Luck, who was in Indianapolis -- Peyton Manning leaves and you think the division's open. And Luck comes in and right away, you saw that 'it' factor of being in a ball game and it coming down to the fourth quarter and there's a minute and 45 seconds to go and they have the ball and they need a field goal and he drives them right down the field and they end up kicking the field goal with five seconds to go on the clock.
"Those are the intangibles within a quarterback that when you're in the locker room that you can see, you can feel it. You can see the leadership, you can see the poise. Those things when a quarterback oozes that, if you're a guy on defense, you're sitting on the sideline and now you're excited to watch your offense on the field. So, I think for the New England Patriots, there's multiple teams throughout the league right now that have quarterbacks where there's a lot left to be desired. And if you insert a young guy, he shows some promise right away. There's hope that's built throughout the entire organization."
After apparently avoiding a serious knee injury, Maye and the Patriots are heading to London for a date with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
