Seahawks Wideout Opens Up About Offseason Workout With Drake Maye

Seahawks wide receiver Jake Bobo wanted to utilize an offseason workout this summer to get on the same page with Seattle backup quarterback Sam Howell.

The throwing session certainly helped with that, but it offered more. It also led to Bobo catching passes from New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye.

Maye, who is close friends with Sam Howell after the two spent a season together at North Carolina, tagged along for the workout. Bobo didn't let his Duke-colored glasses -- he played four seasons with the Blue Devils before finishing his college career at UCLA -- impact his view of the former Tar Heel as almost immediately Bobo saw why Maye went third overall to the Patriots in this year's NFL draft.

"Just right off the bat you could tell he's going to be a stud," Bobo told NESN.com. "Obviously, he's young, but the arm talent is there. Just talking ball with him, he's one of the smartest dudes probably I've been able to talk shop with. He's definitely impressive."

Maye throwing passes to Bobo gave the second-year Seahawks wideout a feel for the rookie's skill set. While Maye's powerful right arm and ability to drive the ball down the field have always stood out in his arsenal, Bobo saw the nuances in Maye's passes that are equally important.

"He's got great touch on the ball, but at the same time has a velocity on the ball that you don't really see out of a lot of QBs," Bobo said. "He'll throw you a slant and it's got some juice on it, but it's easier to catch than some of the guys around the league you throw with who just try to rifle the ball in there."

Bobo, who earned a spot on the Seahawks last year as an undrafted free agent, knows it takes more than just talent to survive, and thrive, in the NFL. Playing quarterback is no exception to that.

Bobo saw it growing up in North Andover, Mass. when he watched Tom Brady, who was picked apart for his lack of physical attributes coming into the NFL, play on Sundays. Maye probably doesn't have the same intangibles Brady did to lead the Patriots to six Super Bowl titles, but Bobo views Maye as a complete package.

"Everybody knows about the talent. The talent's obvious," Bobo said. "Just personality-wise, I can see him being easy to follow just as a quarterback. Growing up in the Tom Brady golden age, there's more to playing quarterback than just throwing the ball perfectly down the sideline and he's got it. I felt like in the short time I had with him he's got it. He'll be a great quarterback in this league. There's no doubt in my mind. So, I guess we just got to wait a little while longer to see it."

Barring an injury to Patriots starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett, Bobo won't see Maye in action when New England hosts the Seahawks on Sunday at Gillette Stadium.

The new Patriots regime headed by executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf and first-year head coach Jerod Mayo opted to have Maye, who just turned 22 years old last month, start his rookie season by watching from the sideline.

Bobo doesn't believe that's a bad spot for Maye to be in at the moment and could serve as a critical piece in the signal-caller's development.

"I love it for Drake. Obviously I'd assume he was disappointed in that decision. Obviously it was what it was," Bobo said. "But just being able to learn under a guy like Jacoby, who's a vet, and just being able to take however long it is that he's sitting behind him to just learn in this league because there's so much that goes on on a day-to-day basis in terms of scheme and game plan and literally on the field calling the play that the regular game watcher doesn't necessarily realize.

"I had a learning curve. Drake will probably have less of a learning curve than I did. Seemed like a smart guy. But it will be good for him to learn a little bit behind Jacoby, who's a helluva player, and take off from there."