Comparing Drake Maye and Caleb Williams ahead of Patriots-Bears
BOSTON -- Drake Maye and Caleb Williams are gearing up for their first matchup against one another, as Maye's New England Patriots will pay a visit Williams' Chicago Bears this Sunday. Both rookie quarterbacks have their respective fan bases feeling pretty good about the future of their teams.
While fans in New England love the Drake after four starts, fans in Chicago have been going wild for Williams since the start of the season. The two rookie quarterbacks will have the spotlight on Sunday, giving fans around the country a reason to watch a 2-7 Patriots team play a 4-4 Bears team.
Williams was given the keys to the Bears immediately after the team drafted him first overall, and he's done a good job living up to the hype of the No. 1 overall pick.
Maye was taken third overall by New England and had to battle with veteran Jacoby Brissett throughout training camp and the preseason. He ultimately started his rookie campaign on the bench, but that changed in Week 6 when the Patriots decided it was time to make a QB switch.
Neither have been as good as Jayden Daniels, who was drafted second overall by the Washington Commanders and is the favorite to win Rookie of the Year. But Williams and Maye -- both of whom are 22 -- have been solid to start their NFL careers. Both have provided plenty of excitement, not just for their own fans but for fans around the NFL.
How has Caleb Williams played to start his NFL career?
Williams has the Bears at 4-4 on the season, though like any rookie, he's had his share of ups and downs.
He was more of a passenger in Chicago's Week 1 win over the Tennessee Titans, with Williams completing just 48 percent of his passes for 93 yards and no touchdowns in his NFL debut. He had a rough go of it in Week 2 against the Texans, throwing a pair of interceptions while taking six sacks in a 19-13 loss.
Williams broke out in Week 3 with 363 passing yards and two touchdowns, but he also threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in Chicago's 21-16 road loss to the Colts.
Williams had a great three-game stretch from there, leading the Bears to wins over the Rams, Panthers, and Jaguars. He completed 74 percent of his passes and threw seven touchdowns to just one pick over during that three-game win streak. Williams had two long touchdowns to DJ Moore against the Panthers (34 yards and 30 yards), and followed that game up with a four-touchdown effort against the Jags in London. He completed 23 of his 29 passes across the pond, his most accurate game to date, and had a 31-yard touchdown strike to tight end Cole Kmet in the win.
But Williams has gone cold the last two weeks, with no touchdown passes and a completion percentage of just 49.23 percent (32-of-65) in road losses to the Commanders and the Cardinals. Chicago scored just 24 points combined in those two defeats.
The Patriots aren't banking on Williams' struggles to continue on Sunday, and are well aware that they have to be ready for the rookie to make an impact through the air and on the ground. On Wednesday, Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo lauded Williams' scrambling abilities. He said that more times than not, the QB scrambles to buy time for throws downfield rather than running for big gains on his own.
"I watched him a little bit coming out and then really just diving into the tape, this guy is very athletic. He's elusive," Mayo said of Williams, who has 221 yards on 38 rushing attempts this season. "He has great vision in the pocket, and I would say he scrambles more to make throws."
Williams extending plays has its pitfalls too, as the rookie has been sacked 29 times this season. That is the third-most in the NFL behind Cleveland's Deshaun Watson (33 sacks in just seven games!) and Houston's CJ Stroud (30 sacks in nine games).
How has Drake Maye played to start his NFL career?
Maye has only made four starts, and he had to leave one of them after the first quarter, so he has a much smaller sample size than Williams'. But New England fans are feeling pretty good about the future thanks to the 22-year-old.
Maye got his first taste of NFL action when he replaced Brissett at the end of a 23-3 loss to the Jets in New Jersey. He only played the final drive of the game, but it was New England's best drive of the contest and he nearly got the team into the end zone before time expired.
Three weeks later, Maye took over as the Patriots' starter. His first game came against a tough Houston defense, and he looked a lot like a rookie making his first start as he threw a pair of interceptions and lost a fumble. But he also threw for 243 yards and three touchdowns -- including a 40-yard score to Kayshon Boutte and a 35-yard TD strike to DeMario Douglas -- and picked up 38 yards on five scrambles in the 41-21 loss. With Maye in at quarterback, the long ball was back in the arsenal for the New England Patriots to go with the rookie's incredible scrambling ability.
Maye completed 26 of his 37 passes for two touchdowns and 276 yards, and he didn't turn the ball over in a 32-16 loss to the Jaguars in London in Week 7. We only saw a quarter of Maye in Week 8 against the Jets, as he was knocked out of the contest with a concussion on a hit from behind at the conclusion of an 18-yard scramble. It was one of his three scrambles on the day, and he was two yards shy of leading the Patriots with 46 rushing yards that afternoon despite playing just a quarter.
Maye was out of concussion protocol in time to return for last Sunday's overtime loss to the Titans, and the rookie had several jaw-dropping plays in Tennessee. He ran for a team-high 95 yards on eight carries, and had the entire NFL in awe as he avoided tackles for nearly 12 seconds and delivered a game-tying touchdown pass to Rhamondre Stevenson on the final play of regulation.
The Patriots, however, lost in overtime when Maye threw his second interception of the day after the Titans started the extra frame with a field goal. Both of his picks came on ill-advised downfield strikes, and Maye also lost a fumble on a strip-sack. The rookie said this week that cutting down on turnovers is his big focus going forward.
Maye has made his mistakes, but it's clear from his four starts that he has a ton of talent. He's given the New England offense a spark it desperately needed, and Patriots fans a reason to keep watching every weekend.
Caleb Williams vs. Drake Maye comparison
Here's a quick look at the passing stats of the two rookies:
Caleb Williams: 162-of-264 (61.4 percent), 1,665 yards, 9 touchdowns, 5 interceptions, 83.0 rating
Drake Maye: 82-of-125 (65.6 percent), 770 yards, 6 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, 85.1 rating
And since they both like to use their legs, here are their rushing/scrambling stats:
Caleb Williams: 38 attempts, 221 yards, 5.8 yards per attempt, 12 first downs
Drake Maye: 21 attempts, 209 yards, 10.0 yards per attempt, 1 touchdown, 13 first downs
In a small sample size, Maye has slightly outplayed Williams, and he's done so with less talent around him. The Bears wisely surrounded Williams with a ton of playmakers, drafting rookie receiver Rome Odunze ninth overall while trading for veteran Keenan Allen. But overall, the Bears offense hasn't lived up its hype, as Chicago is averaging 294.6 yards per game (28th in the NFL) and 21.5 points (19th).
Maye has given the team some new life on offense, but he probably wishes that he had that kind of talent around him in New England. The Patriots offense has been dreadful overall, sitting last in the league at 264.8 yards per game and 30th at 15.4 points per game. Patriots receivers are fifth in the NFL with 19 drops this season.
Maye and Williams discuss Sunday's matchup
Maye and Williams have known each other since high school from participating in the same football camps. They remained friends in college, and then went through the pre-draft process together.
Now they're set to square off, and Maye admitted Wednesday that there will be a little added juice in the matchup when he goes against one of the QBs drafted ahead of him.
"Anytime you go against a quarterback in your class, it's a little extra. Looking forward to getting out there and playing the Bears," said Maye. "We never played each other, so this will be cool."
Williams was very complimentary of Maye when discussing his fellow rookie on Wednesday.
"I've known him for a while. Good guy, country dude and a competitor," Williams said of Maye. "His game is exactly what you saw in college. He's explosive, accurate. He's a tall, strong figure back in the pocket and he makes plays for his team."
Maye also commented on Williams' escapability.
"I think the play is never over with Caleb. That's the biggest thing," said Maye. "He's just so talented."
The Patriots and the Bears don't play each other very often, so enjoy the Williams-Maye matchup this weekend.
We'll get you ready for this weekend's Patriots-Bears showdown Sunday morning with Patriots GameDay at 11:30 a.m. (which you can also stream on CBSBoston.com), and switch to TV38 after the game for full reaction and analysis on Patriots 5th Quarter!
