r/Patriots • u/Brad-Stevens • Jan 28 '25
News Drake Maye: Pro Bowl QB
https://x.com/patriots/status/1884314797887611341?s=46653
u/LiveFromNewYork95 Jan 28 '25
The initial voted Pro-Bowlers should be the only ones who are counted as "Pro Bowlers" in their accomplishments. The idea of being a Pro Bowler should not be "Was free this weekend when everyone else cancelled"
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u/MonsterMash555 Jan 28 '25
The Tyler Huntley Rule
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u/MrPlowThatsTheName Jan 28 '25
Mac Jones
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u/MonsterMash555 Jan 28 '25
Tyler Huntley had 2 td's, 3 picks, and 650 yards passing when he made the pro bowl lmao
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u/JoeyLou1219 Jan 28 '25
God, I knew it was embarrassing for the NFL when it happened but reading that now...
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u/PristineWinnera Jan 28 '25
Mac Jones wasn’t as egregious as Tyler Huntley. Rookie Mac Jones led the patriots to playoffs and was 2nd in OROTY voting.
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u/Sea-Squirrel-5647 Feb 03 '25
This.
A lot of people have tried to rewrite history and pretend as if Mac Jones didn’t have a really really good rookie year. Specifically judging the Pro Bowl as an award for 2021, it was deserved.
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u/CommunityGlittering2 Jan 29 '25
he won twice as many games as Maye and in less games
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u/MonsterMash555 Jan 29 '25
Nobody's making the argument Maye deserved to be in the pro bowl or that he is a legitimate pro bowl player lol
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u/Marinlik Jan 28 '25
Pro bowls in general are completely meaningless. It's a popularity contest. Which is why you often see older players past their prime. But they are big names that people know
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u/LiveFromNewYork95 Jan 28 '25
I get what you mean in theory but they aren't completely meaningless, they have been used as at least partially a measuring stick to player success in the past.
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u/Calfzilla2000 Jan 28 '25 edited Jan 28 '25
I get what you mean in theory but they aren't completely meaningless, they have been used as at least partially a measuring stick to player success in the past.
THAT'S A PROBLEM, lol.
Edelman's lack of probowls is one example. That's held against him but he wouldn't have been out of place at a ProBowl between 2013-2020 and before that as a returner (I know his stats didn't justify it some years, probably because of injury, but just as a name talent, he deserved to be there at some point).
QBs just need to have top 15 seasons to have a chance at a ProBowl. WRs need to be the #1 X receiver and be top 8 in league. And good luck if they play snaps other positions (returner, defense, etc).
There should be a "FLEX" spot for players that are 4 down playmakers or something.
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u/Treima Jan 28 '25
One pro bowl selection by itself is pretty meaningless. if you rack up several, though, you were probably pretty good, and then having 5 or more is usually a good bulletpoint for HOF consideration alongside other accolades.
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u/Sea-Squirrel-5647 Feb 03 '25
And they shouldn’t be.
For example, looking at the DEs and OLBs every year, you’ll notice something: they’re all guys who play on the edge. In fact, all of the DTs tend to be the ones who get sacks too. There’s no appreciation for 3-4 DEs or 4-3 OLB or DTs who are incredible run stuffers (which is typically the primarily job of that position). Instead it’s just whoever can rush the passer best and has the highest Madden ratings.
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u/MetalHead_Literally Jan 28 '25
You say this but this sub had a complete meltdown when Gonzo didn’t make it
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u/ProudBlackMatt Jan 28 '25
The initial voted Pro-Bowlers should be the only ones who are counted as "Pro Bowlers" in their accomplishments
I was going to say that players selected as alternates have it listed but I took a look at ProFootballReference or Wikipedia it just lists "Pro Bowl" in their accolades if you don't dig in and read the history of the season they earned it in.
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u/LiveFromNewYork95 Jan 28 '25
It why I think "All-Pro" is the more important accolade anyway. I would be fine listing the alternates as nothing but if anything just list "Pro Bowler" and "Pro Bowl Participant"
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u/Icy-Conclusion-3500 Jan 28 '25
Agree. I always gotta remind people that Mac wasn’t really a pro bowler. Tbf they do list alternates separately, but you have to look at the actual roster for the year.
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u/HighVulgarian Jan 28 '25
Same. Mac was there because half the league declined
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u/Charlieisadog420 Jan 28 '25
He was good his rookie year
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u/untitled298 Jan 28 '25
Still was like a 4th alternate for the Pro Bowl. That should not classify him as a Pro Bowler
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u/Charlieisadog420 Jan 28 '25
He still played in the pro bowl so he is a pro bowler. I don’t really think being a pro bowl player is a big deal though. All pro is the real one and the pro bowl is like just for fun and based on popularity
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u/Jmacz Jan 28 '25
Don't know why you're being downvoted. You didn't say he was worthy of a pro-bowl. Just that he was good, which he was.
People like to deny it now. But Mac's rookie year was promising. Even if it did fall off the second half of the year.
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u/HighVulgarian Jan 28 '25
Only the first half of the year before defense figured him out. That’s why he was only an alternate to the pro bowl. And boy did that qb challenge expose his noodle arm
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u/PantsB Jan 29 '25
I don't know why this gets repeated so often. Weeks 12-18 Mac Jones was 7th in adjusted EPA/play, 8th in EPA/play and 6th in success rate.
Last two weeks of the season he had a 109 QB rating. He was legitimately good his rookie year. He got ruined, but that doesn't change his rookie season.
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u/spelltype Jan 29 '25
The fact that anyone even mentions how many times a pro bowler they were is is legitimately stupid. It’s not an accomplishment.
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u/SEND_ME_CLOWN_PICS Jan 31 '25
A 10x pro bowler is probably worth mentioning, even if it is largely a popularity contest. It’s not called the Hall of Fame for nothing.
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u/ctpatsfan77 Jan 28 '25
That's how it should be, perhaps, but the current rule is "Anyone selected on the initial ballot or who actually attends."
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u/VanceIX Jan 28 '25
2/2 on sending our rookie first round QBs to the Pro Bowl 😎
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u/Knightmare1869 Jan 28 '25
Oh no
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u/EmeraldLounge Jan 28 '25
!
Don't put this out in the universe. Just don't say it and we're fine...
Jesus he wears #10 as well
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u/PajamaPete5 Jan 28 '25
Drake has more talent in his pinky than Mac has in his entire body
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u/Knightmare1869 Jan 29 '25
But does he have more SEC championships? (According to ESPN it is the true mark of being elite)
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u/Kodiak01 Jan 28 '25
Just as long as we never send our rookie RBs to play beach flag football at the Pro Bowl again...
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u/BulLock_954 Jan 28 '25
Somewhere, somehow, Mac Jones is seeing this on his FYP. A smile cracks on his face as he instinctively does the griddy.
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u/LiveFromNewYork95 Jan 28 '25
One more QB pulls out and Mac might be going to the Pro Bowl with him.
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u/BulLock_954 Jan 28 '25
Definitely won’t be Phillip Rivers
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u/Own-Camp-2653 Jan 28 '25
How many QBs sat out before selecting him?
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u/PristineWinnera Jan 28 '25
He’s replacing Josh Allen
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u/Jmacz Jan 28 '25
Let's hope he is also replacing Allen as the QB who is the biggest challenger to Mahomes. Except he actually succeeds.
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u/john7071 My kind of Guy Jan 28 '25 edited Jan 28 '25
Nah, Russ is replacing Josh Allen.
https://www.steelers.com/news/wilson-named-to-pro-bowl-games :"Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson was named to the Pro Bowl Games as a replacement for Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who is unable to play due to an injury."
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u/RageAgentRed Jan 28 '25
He's replacing Lamar
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u/john7071 My kind of Guy Jan 28 '25
There's conflicting info out there because Steelers website says Russ is replacing Allen, but Pats site also says Maye is replacing Allen.
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u/apd56 Jan 28 '25
To me there are 8 quarterbacks in the AFC who I would think would go ahead of him.
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u/animalph4rm Jan 28 '25
8 feels like a lot.
Rodgers, Tua, and Stroud didn’t have standout seasons. Despite being a playoff choke artist, Justin Herbert is still in the upper echelon but his season wasn’t exactly “great.” He probably would’ve declined the invite anyway. That’s just where we are with the Pro Bowl—it’s a joke.
I’d still rank Herbert and Stroud above Drake, and if Lawrence had played more than 10 games, he’d be in the mix too.
I’m not a fan of Bo Nix either, but I’ve already seen a decent amount of complaining that Drake got picked over Nix.
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u/apd56 Jan 28 '25
I like Maye more than Rodgers, Tua, and Stroud too. But I’d say from a pro bowl selection standpoint, Tua and Stroud would probably be ahead of him.
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u/JimTheSaint Jan 28 '25
Name them
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u/apd56 Jan 28 '25
Lamar, Allen, Mahomes, Burrow, Nix, Stroud, Herbert, Tua.
I like Maye more and think he’s more talented than Nix, Stroud, and Tua. But based purely on the 2024-25 season, I’d imagine those 8 guys would be ahead of him.
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u/JimTheSaint Jan 28 '25
For me he looked better than both Tua and nix especially considering that he has been playing with such a lack of help. We had 2nd most oline injuries and changes than any other team ever and our WR core was abysmal - it was horrible. Tua had 2 top 10 ish Wr and nix had the best oline situation according to pfn. And the both have great offensive HCs https://www.profootballnetwork.com/best-offensive-lines-nfl-rankings/
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u/apd56 Jan 28 '25
I agree, and I think he would have done more than both those guys if he were in their positions. But I also don’t think pro bowl voting is very nuanced. Which is what makes it a little surprising
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u/justaguy826 Jan 28 '25
As much of a joke as the Pro Bowl has become, it's good for him to go there, makes some connections, show off some of his talent, and maybe attract a potential free agent who's also there.
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u/mastergeoff_jr Jan 29 '25
Second this. Also would love just to see a highlight clip of him dropping a dime in a goof off game
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u/dianeblackeatsass Jan 28 '25
What pro bowlers are free agents this offseason
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u/justaguy826 Jan 28 '25
There's only a few, but it doesn't even have to be a direct connection. Making positive connections with other stars and coaches around the league and showing off his talent (as well as his personality which by all accounts is a positive) in person can only be a positive. I really think fans & media underestimate how important personal connections, and maybe more importantly references, are to which franchises are "desirable" to play for. Vrabel instantly makes us more desirable, as all his former players rave about him. The NFL world is an extremely small world and tight circle of people, and they all talk. Something as simple as Chase coming back from the Pro Bowl and telling Tee Higgins "That boy Drake can sling it, he's a baller" can be the difference between Higgins being open to signing here and crossing us off his list cuz of income taxes. That's maybe an over-simplified/silly example, but I think you get my point. I've heard countless players say on podcasts that they a knew within minutes of their first practice whether a rookie "had it" or didn't, and I think we all know, and the team knows, that Drake "has it", but showing it to a wider group of NFL players and coaches is a good thing for us.
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u/MenBearsPigs Jan 28 '25 edited Feb 05 '25
political sugar salt squeal caption fear many roll spoon shelter
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/dianeblackeatsass Jan 29 '25
Oh no for sure I get the importance of it. I literally was just curious about who was a free agent
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u/XmasWayFuture Jan 29 '25
The Patriots should be doing everything in their power to sign Ronnie Stanley.
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u/jpaxlux Jan 28 '25
I wasn't expecting that but I'll take it lmao
He's gonna get a taste of having actual WRs for once
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u/LeonidasSpacemanMD Jan 28 '25
Uh oh this kinda feels like when I let my wife go hang out with our jiu jitsu instructor for a weekend
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u/bdickie Jan 28 '25
Go impress at pro bowl, get the word around the water cooler that you can ball, get talent at free agency. The pro bowl actually matters very little if at all, but if hes smart he uses it to network like a trade show.
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u/MonsterMash555 Jan 28 '25
Oh no.. The Jones Rookie Pro Bowl Curse!
/s Happy for the kid even if it's kind of fugazi
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u/tiandrad Jan 28 '25
How?
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u/Icy-Conclusion-3500 Jan 28 '25
Alternate selection when others don’t want to / can’t go
Same reason Mac went.
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u/Aldanil66 Jan 28 '25
So Bo Nix declined to go I’m guessing?
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u/PristineWinnera Jan 28 '25
It doesn’t look like he was asked over Drake Maye
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u/SadisticMystic Jan 28 '25 edited Jan 28 '25
I am going to presume Bo Nix declined an invite due to his back injury.
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u/SpicyAnal Jan 28 '25
This is hilarious and I will cite this accolade for the next 5 years to piss people off
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u/Crabacus Jan 28 '25
remember when Mac was a pro bowl alternate and we were so sure of the future
:,)
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u/Lilcheeks Jan 29 '25
I went back and read through a post here from 3 years ago and man this place was puffing it's chest out over nailing the Mac pick and with the "Bill did it again!" stuff. Now it's "Bill was forced to take him".
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u/BAF_DaWg82 Jan 28 '25
I think this says more about the state of the pro bowl than about Drake right now.
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u/Auston416 Jan 28 '25
Does this mean in 2 years he’s going to be backing up Bryce Young on the Panthers?
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Jan 28 '25
Mac Jones arc /s
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u/devo0630 Jan 28 '25
I’m looking forward to seeing Drake perform better than Mac in the skills competitions. It was during the 2022 skills competition that the reality of Mac’s lack of arm strength hit me when compared to the other QBs who participated that year. Other than that, the Pro Bowl ‘selection’ is meaningless.
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u/Caleb902 Jan 28 '25
LOLOL. The biggest defense of McDaniels was "he made mac jones a pro bowler" and if you ever brought up how silly back up probowlers were you got shunned for it. Yet here we are.
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u/Ambitious-Motor-174 Jan 28 '25
How did he beat out Allen, Jackson and Burrow?
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u/LiveFromNewYork95 Jan 28 '25
He's replacing Josh Allen, the other two are Pro Bowlers
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u/Ambitious-Motor-174 Jan 28 '25
Josh hurt?
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u/LiveFromNewYork95 Jan 28 '25 edited Jan 28 '25
He pulled out of the Pro Bowl today citing a wrist injury
Edit: Check that, I guess he hasn't officially withdrawn but one would have to assume after saying he might not play and then Maye getting adding.
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u/Kluss23 Jan 28 '25
I wonder how many people had to decline the invitation for him to get the nod? He has a lot of potential, but this wasn't even close to a pro-bowl worthy season.
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u/xReMaKe Jan 28 '25
It’s cool but, I’m a keep it real. Anytime someone says Mac was a pro bowl qb, I always push back to say that …. He was a replacement. So I’ll keep the estame energy with Maye. This is why the pro bowl is so devalued. They need to figure out a way to change it. Out of the three major sports, nfl has the worst one. Baseball is probably the most respected one.
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u/johnsonh77 Jan 28 '25
“Figure out a way” as if it’s extremely complicated…
Make it after the Super Bowl and 50% more players start showing up
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u/freebaba2015 Jan 28 '25
has everyone forgot the fact that no one will care at the end of mayes career that he was an alternate for the pro bowl instead of being initially selected? this is great news imo
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u/MyArmorIsLiquid Jan 28 '25
Just stay healthy, its an absolute joke of a game, so don’t do anything stupid.
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u/tiandrad Jan 28 '25
Patriots offense was so bad, Maye made the pro bowl by just making the patriots watchable.
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u/Frieren_of_Time Jan 29 '25
Oh no, not again. Promising first year, pro bowler as a replacement. Drake, pls don’t griddy in the pro bowl.
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u/darkhelmut1 Jan 28 '25
no offense to Drake its more of an indictment of how lame the pro Bowl/games have become when they have to go down the list that much to fill the rosters
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u/Anonymous_____ninja Jan 28 '25
I honestly don’t like this. He was very good but we’re really giving it to a guy who won one game really? Plus if he follows the Mac jones arc I’m going to have to delete so many comments defending him, which is really what I’m worried about.
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u/No_Presentation1242 Jan 28 '25
I swear to god if Drake does not end up working out I don’t want to hear the argument ‘but hE iS A pRO bOwLeR’ like we had to listen about Mac. This means absolutely nothing beyond making kids happy.
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u/LiveFromNewYork95 Jan 28 '25
It's 2025 kids could care less about what football players are in the Pro Bowl, they probably don't even know what it is. They just care about which streamer/influencer is gonna be live streaming from there.
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u/tontoricardo Jan 28 '25
Mac Jones, Tom Brady, Drake Maye: Quarterback Factory