Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Reveals Initial Concern About Drake Maye

The Patriots enter a new era this season, and it's one Robert Kraft is excited to see out on the football field.

New England will not have Bill Belichick nor Tom Brady for the first time in over 20 years. Jerod Mayo has big shoes to fill as Belichick's successor, and Drake Maye faces a lot of pressure as the potential savior of the franchise.

Kraft had memorable interactions with the top signal-callers of the Patriots' past like Drew Bledsoe and Brady. He even had a solid relationship with Mac Jones before the 2021 first-round pick flamed out of Foxboro, Mass. Kraft on Tuesday revealed what his first impressions were of Maye after New England drafted him third overall in this year's draft.

"The first thing I really liked was when we drafted him and he came here and his three brothers came with him -- the older brother plays basketball in Japan," Kraft said on "Zolak & Bertrand," per 98.5 The Sports Hub. "And they all came. They're a unit. They're a strong family, and they just told me about the kind of support. I worry about these young kids coming in here who have received NIL income and they're not about winning and putting team first. I also might mention, he brought his girlfriend who he's been dating since the seventh grade. He seems to be very sound, good values. He comes in early, works hard and all the fundamentals are there. This is a business and it's something where they get highlighted and really get spoiled quickly. And I think he has a good foundation.

"I think we're going to build something very special. I love the way the coaching staff has developed, and it's a big learning curve. It's really an up atmosphere. The culture with the players and the locker room -- but now we got to deliver on the field."

Kraft's concerns about how money and the spotlight could affect a star player certainly are justified given Brady was one of the top winners in NFL history. The future Hall of Fame quarterback also stressed how important the team was to him, so it makes sense why Kraft would want to value a signal-caller who also shares similar values.

Maye had the benefit of working with Brady's former QB coach Clyde Christensen at North Carolina, and he's spoken with the Patriots Hall of Famer, too. So he's got a good idea of what it takes to win the NFL. He still needs to show it on the field, and he sounds like he's got the full support of ownership.