Drake Maye names Patriots icon a ‘great mentor’
It turns out, Drake Maye had another important mentor inside Gillette Stadium last season.
Prior to the Patriots drafting the rookie quarterback, they signed Jacoby Brissett for a good reason. The veteran quarterback was considered a good leader and already knew Alex Van Pelt’s offensive system.
It was no surprise when Brissett mentored Maye or when the young quarterback credited the veteran for helping him. However, while speaking to Sirius XM NFL at the NFL Pro Bowl Games, Maye also credited a legendary Patriots player for helping him last season.
“Yeah, not only Mr. Jacoby Brissett. I think Matthew Slater was great,” Maye told Amber Theoharis and Kirk Morrison. “He was an All-Pro for all them years, a great, great guy to have in the locker room. Great guy. He helped around as a coach, and is a great mentor, follower – in all aspects of life he was awesome.
That marked the first time Maye spoke about Slater’s influence on him. Considering the impact Slater made in New England, it’s not a surprise.
A fifth-round pick in 2008, Slater went from being a roster bubble player to a team captain, Pro Bowler and All-Pro. From 2011-2023, Slater was the Patriots special teams captain. He also helped out the team by leading Bible studies. When he retired, Slater set an NFL special team record with 10 Pro Bowl selections. He was also named an All-Pro five times and won three Super Bowls with the Patriots.
When Jerod Mayo was hired, Slater was brought on to the Patriots staff with the title of ‘special assistant to the head coach.’
Maye told Sirius XM NFL that he had a fun first year and hopes to lead the Patriots to more wins. He also credited Brissett for helping him develop.
“Yeah, it was awesome to get behind (and) obviously, study behind Jacoby,” Maye said. “Have a vet in the room to learn how he studied the play sheet, learn how he kind of handled the locker room. It was awesome for me to get experience that he was a great veteran. He was great to have in the room.
“… Hopefully we got some good things coming, hopefully up in New England. We got a great fan base and we’ll figure it out. So, we got some more games to win, but it was a great learning experience this year.”
