Drake Maye is absorbing most of the criticism for the Patriots‘ inconsistent passing game. Rob Gronkowski thinks that’s aimed at the wrong person. The former New England tight end, who caught passes from Tom Brady for nine seasons with the Patriots, says Maye is working with almost no one around him at receiver. His assessment was blunt, and it shifts the spotlight to a roster problem the Patriots can’t ignore.

On Wednesday’s Up & Adams Show, Gronkowski came to Maye’s defense while breaking down New England’s Week 3 game against the Jaguars, arguing that the quarterback badly needs injured receiver A.J. Brown back in the lineup.

“They do need A.J. Brown back,” Gronkowski said on Up & Adams Show. “There is literally no one open on the field. He’s (Maye) gonna have to stick it in every single time into a tight window on all those routes right there. But it is a team thing as well; they gotta get the juice going with the Patriots offense. I think the defense is solid, and eventually they’re gonna collapse with an offense that just isn’t moving the ball.

“They’re not putting up any points and are turning it over. Even with a good defense, they’re still gonna get points scored on them in those situations. But overall, it’s an offensive thing. Yes, Drake Maye needs to build confidence. But also, it’s a team thing as well. Those wide receivers, they need to get open more. I mean, how creative can you get with the playbook? With the talent that you have, there’s only so much you can do as an offensive coordinator.”

Brown suffered a high ankle sprain against the Seahawks in Week 1 and was placed on injured reserve, so he can’t practice until Week 6.

Gronkowski made sure to hammer that point home as he finished.

“A.J. Brown is what they need; he needs to come back as soon as possible; he really does,” he concluded.

The numbers support his argument. Without Brown, the Patriots are tied for last in the league at 12.0 points per game, and their PFN Offense Impact score of 65.9 ranks last in the NFL.

CBS Sports’ Doug Clawson also noted that New England has scored just 29 points on 30 drives so far. That works out to 0.97 points per drive, the lowest mark through three games since the 2021 New York Jets.

Drake Maye entered his second season in Josh McDaniels’ offense (who rejoined the Patriots coaching staff in 2025 as offensive coordinator), with plenty of confidence in his understanding of the system. But the results have been far from comfortable. Poor decisions, missed opportunities, and pressure from opposing defenses have continued to pile up, while injuries to A.J. Brown and other key players have made things even harder.

Maye has also been blunt about the Patriots’ offensive struggles, calling the unit “unacceptable.” The quarterback even said he plans to “look in the mirror and take this as a turning point,” but the numbers show how much work remains.

The receiver group has been particularly unsettled since Brown went down with a right high ankle sprain in the season opener. Maye has yet to throw a touchdown to a wide receiver since Week 1 and has six interceptions when targeting the position so far.

Over the past two games, Mack Hollins has led the group with 11 targets, followed by Doubs with eight and DeMario Douglas with seven. Hollins has also recorded eight catches for 108 yards, while Doubs leads the group with 145 receiving yards on six receptions.

The Patriots have not found much consistency elsewhere, either. Their running game is averaging 3.9 yards per carry, tied for 19th in the league, while protection has been another concern. Maye was pressured on 47% of his dropbacks against the Jaguars, his highest rate this season and the fourth-highest of his career. His overall pressure rate has climbed to 41.4%, compared with 33.9% in 2025. Under pressure, his off-target rate has also jumped from 17% last season to 36% this year.

With problems showing up across the offense, Mike Vrabel believes Maye’s answer may not be about doing more. Instead, the Patriots coach used a golf analogy to explain what he wants from his quarterback.

“I think sometimes, we really want to make a good score, right? Sometimes we’re so focused on it, we try to choke the life out of the golf club, and we’re squeezing it so damn tight that the ball has no choice but to go sideways,” Vrabel said on WEEI.

His message was simple, as he further added: “We need to stop trying to choke the life out of every single play. We need to relax. We need to settle in and go play football and not try to force things that aren’t there.”

On the other hand, Gronkowski isn’t the only former Patriot sticking up for Maye. On the Gronk and Jules Show, the hosts talked about how Maye has become something of a joke during this slump, and Edelman wasn’t having it.

“All right, man, stop throwing the kid under the bus. It’s his third year,” Edelman said about Maye.

“Drake Maye looks very uncomfortable,” he added earlier. “He’s lost his confidence. And you don’t want to kick a man when he’s down. I think he needs to take this as an opportunity. He needs to take this as an opportunity to really This is like his first bit of adversity in his career. This guy’s only in his third year in the league.”

Maye is only in his third year, and he was an MVP runner-up last year, which makes this season a sharp turn.

In Sunday’s 35-6 loss to the Jaguars, Maye went 14 of 25 for 199 yards without a touchdown. Over the first three games, he has thrown for 585 yards with one touchdown and six interceptions, and he has also lost a fumble, leaving him with a QBR of 45.9.

Edelman didn’t ignore the struggles either, but he leaned on what Maye does well and pushed him to make something of this tough stretch.

“Maybe a little adversity will toughen him up, and he’ll use this.”

Taken together, both former Patriots are saying the same thing. Maye has plenty to clean up, but he’s also working with a receiving group that has a hard time getting open, and that makes his job a lot tougher.