NASHVILLE – Patriots defensive tackle Davon Godchaux didn’t want to talk about his team’s leaky defense that deteriorated Sunday 20-17 loss against the Titans, but he lit up when asked about Drake Maye.
“Man, that’s young Josh Allen 2.0, man,” Godchaux said Sunday.
Maye was far from perfect in Sunday’s defeat. One turnover – a lost fumble midway through the fourth quarter – nearly caused the Patriots to lose, and another – an interception in overtime – ended the game. But the Patriots finished the game with 295 total yards, and Maye passed for 206 yards and scrambled for another 95. He was the entire Patriots offense on a day when the Patriots couldn’t get anything going in the run game .
“He looks great. Sure, he had some plays that I’ll let Drake talk about that he’d like to have back, but man, I love seeing him on the sidelines. I tell guys all the time he looks like Josh Allen 2.0, and I played Josh Allen in Miami in his rookie year, and he didn’t look that good. And Josh Allen is a phenomenal player. He’s an MVP type player, Madden cover, he deserves everything. He’s a great player, but he didn’t look like it in his rookie year. Drake looks better than Josh did in his rookie year. I’ll let Drake talk more about that, but man… he looks great, especially when he runs the ball. I didn’t know that boy had burners like that. I look forward to playing with him and seeing him for years to come.”
Godchaux supports the belief that Maye could attract players to want to play with him in New England.
The Patriots enter next offseason with more than $100 million in salary cap space and desperately need more playmakers on offense.
“Absolutely,” Godchaux said. “Everyone wants Josh Allen, everyone wants to play with Pat Mahomes. Soon, before you know it, people will want to play with Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Caleb Williams – he already has three good receivers in Chicago. That child can play. He shows a lot of heart. I’m shouting on the sideline, ‘Man, get down,’ but he keeps getting hit. He’s going to be a great player in this league.”
Godchaux was made aware that Maye is 22 years old and the current youngest starting quarterback in the league. The veteran defensive tackle had no idea.
“We make no excuses for his age, but he is getting better every game. “I was disappointed when he got hurt in the Jets game because I would have liked to see him finish that game because he would have had a big game.”
It says a lot about Maye’s potential that even after a match in which he scored two game-breaking goals, a player like Godchaux is still so excited about the future.
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