"Boycott ESPN": Patriots fans outraged as Stephen A. Smith questions Drake Maye's skills after Stefon Diggs' $69,000,000 move

Stephen A. Smith keeps making headlines this week. After engaging in another back-and-forth with LeBron James, the ESPN veteran analyst focused his attention on a second-year NFL quarterback, Drake Maye.

After Stefon Diggs signed with the New England Patriots, Smith criticized the move by mentioning the quarterbacks he played with before. During Friday's edition of "First Take," he said:

“I’m just wondering about Stefon Diggs. You go from Josh Allen to C.J. Stroud to Drake Maye, you sure about that?” Smith said on “First Take,” per ESPN. “Are you sure? I think that is a legitimate question to ask because no matter what you are as a receiver, it doesn’t mean a damn thing if the quarterback can’t get you the football.

"And I understand. I’m not throwing that kind of shade on Drake Maye like the brother can’t play. That’s not what I’m implying here. I’m just saying, there’s a difference between him and C.J. Stroud and Josh Allen. And for Stefon Diggs to go from those situations to this, I’m really, really wondering about that.”

Plenty of fans reacted to his words and clapped back at the analyst's uncalled-for criticism.

"Boycott ESPN until they get real sports analysts?" one fan suggested.

"Keep My QB’s Name Out Your Mouth, Stephen A Smith," another fan said.

"Dude doesn’t watch a lick of football. Why does ESPN pay this guy," another fan said.

Others brought up LeBron James in the conversation while rejecting the notion that Maye was terrible.

"Someone’s bitter after getting bodied by LeBron," one fan wrote.

"Drake had a horrible o-line last season, he doesn't know what he's talking about," another fan said.

Stefon Diggs shares his thoughts on Drake Maye's ability

Stefon Diggs faced Drake Maye with the Houston Texans in 2024, getting a good impression of the to-be second-year quarterback.

“We played him last year,” Diggs said, per NBC Sports. “He shows a lot of fight. He got that fiery quarterback, ‘I want to win’ mindset. That’s something that I get excited about and love to be around."

Drake Maye wasn't expected to be thrown into the mix by Jerod Mayo, but once Jacoby Brissett started struggling, the North Carolina product took over. He finished the season with 225 completions on 338 pass attempts, racking up 2,276 passing yards, 15 passing touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The Patriots still have the draft to add more talent to the roster.