New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye gets to share the field with Aaron Rodgers on Sunday when the Pittsburgh Steelers invade Gillette Stadium for a Week 3 showdown. For Maye, it will be another opportunity to play a quarterback he admires greatly and modeled is game after when he was just getting into football.

One of Maye's earliest football memories was watching Rodgers lead the Green Bay Packers to a Super Bowl victory in 2011  -- oddly enough against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Maye was nine years old at the time and realized then how special Rodgers was as a quarterback.

"You get to the age of starting to really love watching football. I was probably just watching my first Super Bowl, and they won it," Maye recalled Wednesday. "He's very talented throwing the football and I think he's got some swagger to him. He's special how he throws the football."

Rodgers is now 41 years old and is likely in his final NFL season, but he's still pretty good at slinging the pigskin. He's completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 447 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions through the first two games.

Maye only got to square off with Rodgers briefly last season when the elder QB was a member of the New York Jets. Jacoby Brissett was still New England's starter when the Patriots visited the Jets in Week 3, though Maye got to make a brief appearance at the end of the New England loss. Maye was the team's starter a few weeks later when the Jets played in Foxboro in Week 8, but he was only on the field for three series before a concussion knocked him out of the game. 

But each time the Patriots played the Jets, Maye made sure to soak in Rodgers' pregame routine just to see the ball come out of his hand. 

"It's something you don't take for granted, someone who throws the football that way," said Maye. 

Drake Maye modeled his game after Aaron Rodgers 

Maye played a lot of sports as a kid, including baseball and basketball. But when he was starting to get serious as a quarterback, he looked up film of Rodgers.

"He spins it with the best of them. Shoot I remember in eighth grade, I was playing baseball and different sports. I looked up how to grip a football, so I looked up Aaron Rodgers grip, and I've had the grip ever since," Maye revealed Wednesday.

Maye said he's tried to borrow other aspects from Rodgers' game, mostly the "little things" the veteran quarterback has mastered over his 21 seasons in the NFL. Rodgers' career is a great manual for Maye to follow as the young quarterback looks to find the perfect mix between his big arm and ability to scramble, but there is a lot more to learn from the veteran.

"I think his play fakes are unbelievable," Maye said of Rodgers. "His intensity, his cadence is one of the best in the league. I'm not going to get that this early in my career, but I'll work towards it. He's so good at drawing guys offsides, taking advantage of big plays. 

"I think he's a special talent. Moving guys, moving defenders, throwing into tight windows. It's great to watch," added Maye.

Maye hopes to someday pick Rodgers' brain about the intricacies of playing quarterback, but said that will not come on Sunday. He's focused on beating the Steelers' defense and getting the Patriots to 2-1 on the season.