In four seasons with the Patriots, Kendrick Bourne has witnessed the team undergo an full revolution on the quarterback carousel. He was in place for training camp in 2021, which was a battle between established star Cam Newton and rookie Mac Jones, and was a primary receiver after Jones won that battle.
He caught passes from Jones as he earned a Pro Bowl spot as a rookie, and then from both Jones and backup Bailey Zappe as things fell apart at the position. Last year, Bourne was in place for the final start of “bridge” QB Jacoby Brissett and the first start for the team’s next franchise quarterback, Drake Maye. Bourne even caught passes from since-traded backup Joe Milton.
But now, he’s buying in fully on the Maye era. He said that Maye, though still a young player in the league, has embraced his leadership role and is fostering competition within the team.
“We want to beat each other in a race, or whatever it is, conditioning and things like that,” Bourne said, via the Boston Herald. “When you do things and he just competes, and you love to see that from the quarterback.”
Drake Maye’s ‘Confidence Is There’
Maye appeared in 13 games last season as the Patriots attempted to slow-roll his debut season. He logged a 66.6% completion rate and 2,276 yards, with 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He certainly has a long way to go, but last year’s roster was weak and Maye showed enough flashes to give the team confidence that he’s the guy going forward.
“The confidence is there, maybe even more confidence,” Bourne said. “He’s just — obviously, he’s gonna be in a new system. So I think he’s in that process. He’s learning. But the confidence is there. Drake is a competitor.
“When we do certain things, like his competitive spirit is starting to show more, in my opinion, which I love. Coming out of that shell, you know, he’s gonna become a vet. So I think that’s what he’s embracing. He understands. He’s familiar with what to expect, what to feel, and that just creates a better, confident quarterback going into Year 2.”
Patriots Have Retooled Offense
Certainly, the Patriots are hoping that moving Maye into a new offensive system, with a revamped offensive line and new weapons, will be key to unlocking his best performances. The Patriots (finally) added a true left tackle, using the No. 4 pick to take Will Campbell from LSU, and also added new right tackle Morgan Moses.
Star receiver Stefon Diggs will join the team as his ACL returns to health, and Bourne should be a veteran anchor among an otherwise young receiver group. The Patriots also added dual-threat running back TreVeyon Henderson as the team’s second-round pick.
And the return of Josh McDaniels, the team hopes, will help recapture some of the magic that took Jones to the Pro Bowl in 2021–McDaniels was the OC that year before leaving to be the Raiders head coach.
Said McDaniels: “I’m smitten by the young man in terms of just his personality. We’ve had an opportunity to spend some time that has nothing to do with football with one another, which I think has been great. … (It) will be super fun for me to really get to know him from a football perspective, start teaching our terminology and language, seeing how he learns best and how he acclimates, but I couldn’t be more excited about the young man that we have.”
