Drake Maye Looks Like He's Trying to Copycat Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers in Flag Football, Says NFL Coach

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye seems to have lost his luster in the eyes of NFL evaluators amid his regression to start the 2026 season.

After Maye committed three turnovers in Sunday's 35-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, The Athletic's Mike Sando spoke to an opposing coach who ripped the third-year signal-caller for having "erratic judgment — not poor, just erratic." The coach went on to bring up examples from the Patriots' 1-2 start to this year.

"(Against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2), he has a deep cross against the Mike linebacker," the coach said. "They have only three underneath defenders. He hangs the ball so much that the Mike linebacker miraculously gets into the play, chases it down and creates the interception."

Maye's decision-making has been in question since he inexplicably threw into tight coverage for a game-losing interception against the Seattle Seahawks in New England's season opener. He had another eye-popping mistake against the Jags on Sunday when he lost control of the ball while attempting a pass.

"He is in the red zone against Pittsburgh, and he doesn't have to, but he sprints up in the pocket, he meets the defender and slides for the sack," the coach said. "He literally sacks himself. (Sunday), he just muffs the ball while passing. Fumbled it and gave it to the other team."

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The coach went on to say that he feels Maye has been trying to play the hero for the Patriots by emulating other quarterbacks who can thrive both in and out of the structure of the offense.

"The best players, their fundamentals are impeccable, repeatable. This guy's are not. He has nervous, happy feet. He does not throw off a sturdy platform. He is not real accurate on the move, and tries the heroics," the coach said. After a pause, he added, "He looks like he is watching (Patrick) Mahomes and (Aaron) Rodgers in primetime games and is at the flag football game on Saturday afternoon trying to play copycat."

The Patriots will need to get better play out of Maye if they hope to make a second straight run to the Super Bowl. Things won't get any easier for New England when it faces the AFC East rival Buffalo Bills (3-0) in Week 4.