The Patriots believe they have their long-term answer in Drake Maye.
A former franchise signal-caller is on board with a Maye-driven future in New England. He's also a little envious of what Maye brings to the table beyond passing: scrambling ability.
"It's such a great weapon and something, quite honestly, I'm a little bit jealous of," Bledsoe said during an appearance this week on "Up & Adams" with Kay Adams. "I'm not saying do it more, but the ability to do that really changes him.
"You watch Pat Mahomes, it seems like every game, Pat would make one big play running the ball. Obviously, he's magic throwing the ball. It always seemed like in crunch time he'd pull it down to run for that first down that was just a backbreaker. I think Drake Maye has the ability to do that."
The numbers support Bledsoe's claim. Maye ran for 421 yards and two touchdowns in 2024, including 407 yards (and both scores) gained via scrambles, per Next Gen Stats. Of those 407 yards, 108 were rushing yards over expected, tying for the third most such yards gained by quarterbacks via scrambles in the entire NFL, trailing only Lamar Jackson and Jayden Daniels.
Scrambling is an element that instantly comes to mind when considering Jackson and Daniels. The same cannot be said about Maye, who also flew under the radar because of how poorly the Patriots performed during his rookie season.
With an improved roster surrounding him, Maye could make a leap that only true football enthusiasts (plus Patriots fans) saw coming. NFL.com's Marc Ross already listed Maye as a second-year breakout candidate earlier in May, and if the Next Gen Stats serve as reliable tea leaves, he's on track to be proven correct.
Bledsoe's mention of Mahomes might feel as if it was cherry picked, but there's plenty of validity in his claim. Much of Mahomes' ranking in last season's QB Index was built on his improvisational ability to extend plays and find unorthodox avenues to move the chains amid an otherwise statistically underwhelming campaign. In fact, when most readers pushed back against Mahomes' ranking, it was because he wasn't posting gaudy numbers.
But there's real value in improvising to sustain drives. Kansas City fought its way to the Super Bowl because of these minor successes, while Mahomes finished fifth in yards gained via scramble (331). He finished fourth in passing yards recorded via scrambling pass attempts (251 yards), and unlike most of the other top scramblers on the list, his totals didn't correlate with a high total of quick or unblocked pressures. They were instead the product of Mahomes extending plays simply to find creases for positive gains.
If this becomes a common element in Maye's game, he'll only be better for it. Ideally, New England's rebuilt offensive line won't struggle as often in future seasons, lessening the need for Maye to scramble. But if it's always a threat, it makes him that much more difficult to defend.
