TRANSCRIPT: Drake Maye Interview with Kay Adams

Here’s what New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye had to say during his sit-down interview with Kay Adams on Saturday, August 1, 2026.

Sitting here with Drake Maye, and here’s what I’m thinking. I’m watching practice. When you unleash an angelic, beautiful deep ball, do you hear the “ahh” that the rest of us do when we see it?

“I think that’s one of the coolest things I remember since high school, of throwing a deep ball and hearing the crowd kind of gasp. That’s one of the coolest, really, kind of sounds in football for me.”

You don’t hear the soundtrack of the angels coming to— ahh, the sky’s opening?

“No, I don’t want that. I think the crowd more. But no, I think those guys make me look good. So I try to give them a chance.”

You throw the most beautiful ball in the NFL, and I’m just – listen, you made it to the Super Bowl. What a season by you. You’re already making that face. I’m just making sure you’re staying humble. I’m worried about you. You’re always walking around with your— I’m kidding, I’m totally kidding. You’re like, “Wait, that’s the opposite of me.”

“We got some work to do.”

Of course. You’re wearing Team Annie’s Angels. Tell me a little bit about that.

“Yeah, we just met Annie over there. She’s making lemonade, and what a beautiful, beautiful little girl. She just came up and gave me and my wife a hug right when we got over there. So we’re supporting her. And I think she’s just such a— you know, just meet her, just such a joy. I think you often kind of don’t realize that in life, the people that bring you a real smile and you kind of make their day, but they really make your day.”

I’m going to hit like 20 camps. I already told the Patriots that was my favorite part of camp.

“Oh, there we go.”

Going over there, meeting Annie, having some lemonade. It goes well with cookies, of course.

“You sent me the first customer, is that right?”

I was. It was so fun. You know, I make a good wide receiver for you and your group. I’m always showing up on time. How do you not gain weight from the cookies? That’s my second important question for you. How do you do it? Do you avoid them? Tell me about the intestinal fortitude it takes.

“No, I think you gotta just kind of take— sometimes you gotta take breakfast off or kind of eat like a yogurt or eat something small to try to save some room for some cookies. Because my wife, what she makes— and you bring them to the guys. That’s the best thing. I taste a little bit and bring them to the offensive linemen, and they write her notes, and they make the rookies write her notes and say ‘thank you.’ Yeah, even the receivers want some, so everybody wants a little taste.

Has AJ Brown tried Ann’s cookies?

“He has. Yep, AJ has.”

What has he had?

“No, he had the strawberry shortcake ones, and he was a big fan. So I got to bring him in more.”

He came in and sat and had— it was such a treat to see him, smiley as ever, putting in the work. Beautiful grab today, which we love.

“Yeah, a couple of them.”

In that first— when Coach decided to say and call him out a little bit in the team meeting, I talked to AJ about what that did to him, and with Vrabel and how he can get the best out of guys. When you heard that, what goes through your head? Are you like, ‘Let me get him the ball?’ Like, what effect does that kind of thing have on you?

“Just give him some chances. He’s going to make plays on the football. And he does a great job of not being too too animated about it. And I think that’s what you see in a receiver like him that’s been making plays in this league for years and has been one of the top guys in the league. So I’m excited to play with him and give him some chances. And that’s what Coach Vrabel does. He calls out the best players and he wants to coach the best players the hardest. And AJ is one of them, and AJ knows that and respects that and is here for it.

What’s the difference that you’ve seen, or the— I wouldn’t say the difference, the evolution potentially, or a beautiful change that you’ve seen in that wide receiver room? Like the [Kayshon] Bouttes, I caught up with Mack Hollins for a bit. You inject a bona fide star, truly one of the best at his position, AJ Brown. What has been the effect, the net effect on that room?

“Yeah, I think we see it first when Romeo [Doubs] came in- big-time guy, and coming from Green Bay. And then AJ comes in after Romeo, and you’re like, ‘Okay, the demeanor in here has changed.’ And this competitive spirit, the kind of swagger that just is in that room naturally from those guys, and just the— what’s the word everybody using nowadays— the aura. I mean, in that room, what everybody sees, I think it’s just, it’s just the nature of it. And those guys know that you see those guys walk into the room and in the meeting, and ‘You’re like, okay, that’s what an NFL wide receiver, top receiver in the league, works like.’ That’s what he looks like running routes, how he looks like working. And I think you see that right away and it just changes that, that room and they all want to elevate to the level. And it starts in practice, and you see it in the games, and you see like, man, I want to just be in the right spot for me and, and be able to make plays. And I think it’s just this natural competitive spirit.”

You, yeah, it’s, it’s really unbelievable to watch. I’m impressed by the chemistry. You guys have a long way to go, a lot of work to do preseason to get you then that Week 1 bout up against the Super Bowl champions. But are you impressed with how fast that chemistry— surprised by how quickly it’s come along with AJ?

“I mean, a guy like AJ, I mean, I think you gotta … ”

Throw him the ball?

“I mean, you gotta give him chances. I mean, I think he can make you throwing the football look good, you know? He can make you throwing the football look good. So just put it in his area and he’ll make plays on it and just find ways to give him the football short, intermediate, deep. I think that’s just, that’s not my job, and, it is my job to execute the play, and that’s what Coach McDaniel’s done a great job of preaching. It’s, on him, and, not always on him, it’s on all 11 of us when he calls a play, and sometimes there’s a play, a player, or a spot in the play that may get the ball more often than not, but it’s not really specifically my job. I’m just trying to execute the plays, and oftentimes number 1’s gonna be open a little bit.”

He’s here, there’s a lot of expectations on him. He makes it look as easy. I know it’s not. What’s like the I mean, AJ obviously was with Vrabel before, first time with [Josh] McDaniels, who’s like a wild maniac genius.

“Yeah.”

What’s been the playbook moment where AJ’s like, “What? What? Wow?” Like, what’s been that?

“Yeah, we were in walkthrough last night and it was raining on us a little bit. And Coach just said, ‘Hey, let’s get to the reps and kind of cut it a little bit. And AJ was saying, calling Coach Vrabel ‘soft.’ And it was funny just hearing AJ call him ‘soft.’ Just the relationship of seeing them from Tennessee to now.”

Yeah.

“And seeing how much Coach still was on him and coaches him hard. And then he’s dealing with Coach McDaniels, who’s a— he’s detailed, as detailed as it gets, you know. He expects a lot out of you. He’s gonna tell you when you do things right, but also get on you when you do things wrong. So he does a great job with that.”

I was seeing some like fancy red zone stuff for AJ. What do I— what am I seeing out there?

“Yeah, just give him the rock in the red zone. I mean, he scored a bunch of touchdowns in this league, so you ain’t got to do much scheme for for him.”

Yeah, don’t study the playbook. AJ, just get down there and do your thing.

“Just give me a little signal, whatever you want to do, I’ll give you the rock. So, but no, I think executing down there and knowing kind of the objective of the play. And AJ’s been doing a great job of learning, learning the schemes and learning the little concepts and being able to play different spots.”

How’s your shoulder?

“Yeah, my shoulder’s feeling great. I think that was a bummer way to end the end of, to end the last game. You know, want to—”

You look great out there.

“Ah, well, thank you.”

So you’re feeling healthy?

“Yes, ma’am.”

I love to hear that. I love to hear all of that. You are married to a baker, so I have to ask you about the other Baker [Mayfield], because I was thinking about this. Obviously he’s a quarterback. What’s sort of unique about him when you— I mean, you take— you faced him a bunch. That Week 10 monster performance by you guys with those long runs from Henderson, you in the first half versus the second half, like, that was— that was one of the best games of the season last year. No, truly, when I tell you, I don’t remember— I don’t have that kind of brain where I remember games, and that was the one where I go ‘Super Bowl. They could do it.’ That was a transformative sort of game. What was that dynamic like? Like, what do you make of Baker as a quarterback in your eyes?

“Baker has been – he’s been so great to me, and he’s a great player in this league. And just his story of getting drafted by the Browns, number 1 overall pick, and then going through some hardships and then going to the Panthers and getting cut. And I think just the game-winning drive for the Rams that put them back on the map and then what he’s doing for Tampa. So I’m really impressed with kind of the way he’s handled the journey and handled the high expectations and then having to go to different places. And now he’s become just really a storybook quarterback in this league. And I love watching him on tape. He’s a competitor. That’s the one thing you know about Baker. My wife’s been laughing at some of the quarterback Netflix series.”

Yeah, it’s been amazing to watch.

“And he’s, that’s how he is. And he’s- I got to know him at the Pro Bowl when I shouldn’t have been my rookie year, but I got a last-second invite.”

Of course you should [have].

“So I got to know Baker….”

You’re too humble. Sterling completion percentage, great leader, all these things. Like, you’re so humble.

“I really think they went down to the last one of the AFC and it happened to be me and I was willing to go. But no, Baker was great to me and, we text every now and then, and he was great after the game. So I’m a big fan.”

This humble thing I love. You need to be that. You’re always working towards something. Is there something that you’re most proud of? Whether it be a statistic, handling the adversity after the Super Bowl loss? Like, what are you most proud of from your last season, your last 12 months since I talked to you last?

“I think keeping the main thing the main thing, and that’s my family, my faith, and playing this game of football. I think that’s what I think my parents and having my family and my wife at home have — we really try to—it’s just been a nature of who we are. And being from the South a little bit and saying ‘Yes ma’am and no ma’am’ and just not losing sight of who I am. And I think that’s what gets you places where you want to go in life.”

Really well said. Appreciate your time so much. Everyone wants a piece of you. I will say This last one, you were kind enough and generous enough to come sit with me. You visited the lemonade stand, put the t-shirt on, saw Anne. I saw you take a million photos. I think you might have shaken everyone’s hand here at practice today. What is that?

“We got great fans. They’re coming out here, spending their time to cheer us on and being out here in the heat. And they want a little autograph or a picture, and I’m here for it.”

You’re here for it. We appreciate it.

“Shout out, Pats Nation.”

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This transcript was done based on the available footage and is subject to typographical errors. If you spot anything, please let me know in the comments below.)

About Ian Logue

Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.

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