Patriots’ Drake Maye Drawing ‘Extra’ From Unique Matchup

The New England Patriots and Chicago Bears will compete in a fairly unique matchup on Sunday.

Caleb Williams — the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft — will take on Drake Maye — the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft — for the first time ever, marking the second time this season that two top-three quarterbacks will meet.

It’ll be special for the pair, with Maye discussing on Wednesday how his unique relationship with Williams could provide some extra juice.

“You spend a lot of time with those guys, you see them some on visits, some at the combine,” Maye said, per team-provided video. “Caleb, I’ve seen him since high school. We were going to the same camps, we were at Elite 11 with each other, we had some college visits together. We’re going through the process again. In college we were friends, I enjoyed watching him do his thing, and now we get a chance to compete. Any time you go against a rookie quarterback in the same class it’s a little extra. I’m looking forward to going out there and getting a chance to play the Bears.”

Maye has proven to be a great find for New England, but he even admitted how special of a talent his opponent is on Sundays.

“The play is never over with Caleb, that’s the biggest thing. And also his talent for making difficult throws. If you’re a quarterback you see, ‘Man, that’s a good throw,'” Maye said. “He’s just so talented. Getting to know him and see him compete, we’ve never played each other, so this will be the first time. It’s pretty cool.”

The Patriots and Bears will meet at historic Soldier Field on Sunday, with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.