Patriots rookie Drake Maye is quickly gaining the respect of his NFL colleagues.

Thanks to bright spots in all of his first four starts for New England, Maye began to make a name for himself. The first-year signal-caller provided arguably his best highlight yet on Sunday when he led a miraculous late-game touchdown drive in Tennesee that forced overtime.

Although Maye committed three turnovers in Week 9 – including an OT interception that secured the Titans' 20-17 win – his 206 passing yards and 95 rushing yards still made him one of the best players on the field at Nissan Stadium . And his impressive performance was recognized by a standout Titans defensive player with a documented mean performance.

“Titans DT Jeffery Simmons said he sought out Drake Maye after the game to tell him he was going to be a great player,” Ben Volin of the Boston Globe posted on X after Sunday’s game.

Not surprisingly, Patriots players are also buying Maye stock. In fact, one of New England's most respected leaders even went so far as to compare the 22-year-old to one of the NFL's best quarterbacks.

Maye still has a lot of work to do to refine his game. But early results suggest the Patriots made the right decision in taking the North Carolina product third overall last spring.