Cam Newton is sticking with his criticism of Drake Maye, and this time the Patriots quarterback got tagged as Newton’s “fraud of the week” after a rough afternoon in Jacksonville.
On a recent episode of his podcast 4th-and-1, Newton handed out his weekly “Daejon Love Fraud Award” and split it between Maye and Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, with his co-host “Peggy” choosing Herbert. Newton went straight at Maye after New England’s 35-6 loss, pointing to a stat line that featured 14 completions on 25 attempts for 199 yards, two interceptions and no touchdowns.
“I just report what I see,” Newton said. “You’re talking about a player who has been disappointing so far this year.”
Maye has one touchdown and six interceptions through three games this season, and Newton said that kind of production doesn’t match the expectations surrounding him.
“Justin Herbert and Drake Maye are looking at each other eyeball to eyeball because what we expected from Drake Maye coming off of a Super Bowl appearance, this ain’t that.”
“Only throwing for one touchdown? This ain’t that.
Leading the league in interceptions? This ain’t that.
Making senseless interceptions, and decisions, and inaccurate passes? This ain’t that.”
Newton has been hammering this theme for a while. He previously called Maye and the Patriots “fool’s gold” during New England’s long win streak last November, the run that helped the team win the AFC East. He doubled down later that month, and the Patriots kept rolling through the regular season.
New England then beat the Chargers, Texans, and Broncos in the playoffs before getting crushed by Seattle in the Super Bowl. But through three games this season, including a rematch with Seattle, Newton says Maye hasn’t resembled the quarterback who finished second in MVP voting last season.
“When I say certain things and I back it with statistics and film - bro I’m not hating,” Newton said. “I’m just critiquing the game from within the confines of my football prowess to say I know Drake Maye way better than that.”
He also acknowledged that Maye hasn’t been working with ideal support around him.
“He hasn’t had the help from the receivers,” Newton said. “Romeo Doubs - what was that?
When you see A.J. Brown, he’s not going to have him for at least [four weeks] because he’s on injured reserve.
So, there’s a lot to unpack but as far as fraudulent activity, it has to go to Drake Maye, and it hurts me to say that.”
Newton added that New England’s easier path last year is not a pass for what’s happening now.
“You can say all that you want to say but everything is washed away when you pull up the film,” Newton said. “When you see the three turnovers that Drake Maye had alone [Sunday], the interception that he threw in the end zone to Travis Hunter - that was disgusting.”
“Even in the Week 1 game, the inaccurate pass led to the game being over. Those are disgusting plays and there’s not another way to explain it. When we’re giving these quarterbacks high praise, we also have to be able to critique them.”
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