FOXBOROUGH – This Christmas, there are plenty of armchair GMs who would love to gift Drake Maye a competent offensive line, along with a number of game-changing receivers who can get open against any coverage.

These gifts would fit well under Maye’s Christmas tree. Dreaming about how good the Patriots quarterback would be with a better cast around him might be the best gift ever for fans.

But beyond the benefits of a line that can block and receivers that can beat man coverage, there’s another gift that would help Maye – fewer turnovers.

The two against Buffalo increased his total to 15, the fourth-most in the league. And he took part in fewer games than before him.

Maye can’t make the jump from “good” to “great” when she commits so many turnovers. He can’t lead the Patriots out of the gutter if he can’t take care of the football.

Twelve of Maye’s 15 turnovers (8 picks, 4 fumbles) occurred in the second half of the game.

At times, Maye’s aggressiveness, his desire to push the offense and do more to get the Patriots back in games, got the best of him.

But as receiver Kendrick Bourne pointed out before practice on Tuesday, Maye’s aggressiveness isn’t necessarily a bad trait. The trick for Maye is to maintain that aggressiveness and make smarter decisions. That’s the fine line he has to manage in the remaining games and next season.

“He has the mentality to make plays to try to win games,” Bourne said. “I love the aggression. That’s how we have to play. I say it all the time: we have to be hunters. We don’t want to be the prey. We want to be the hunters and I think that mentality will ultimately lead to better results.

“But it’s definitely smart. He knows that making smart decisions while being aggressive is the right path.”

Case in point: not throwing a back pass down the goal line.

Maye never should have attempted that swing pass to Rhamondre Stevenson, which resulted in a fumble to him and an easy touchdown for the Bills in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 24-21 loss. After the defense broke free and Stevenson was lined up, Maye should have thrown the ball away to create another deficit.

He will learn from it. If it happens again he will eat the football. In terms of ill-advised throws into the end zone while on the run, like he did against Buffalo, there are multiple layers to this scenario.

“When he sees something and trusts his eyes, I think that’s great,” Bourne said. “Sometimes the DB is closer to the receiver than he thought when he tries to throw it and maybe that leads to something bad. But it’s like a 50:50. You see Josh Allen do this all the time…so there are both sides…every player has strengths and weaknesses. You live and die by both.

“With Drake and the way he plays, I love it. I want him to keep going like that, making those plays and being aggressive because that’s how you win. You win when you shoot your gun. There’s no point in keeping it in the holster.”

Allen had 14 turnovers (12 picks, 2 lost fumbles) in his first season. He averaged 1.17 turnovers per game (Maye is currently at 1.4 per game). His turnover totals are down this season, but last year Allen had a career-high 18 interceptions and four lost fumbles.

The Bills can live with that because they have a talented team that can overcome some of these mistakes. You can live with it because that aggressiveness is part of what makes Allen great.

Patriots coach Jerod Mayo doesn’t view Maye as repeating mistakes. He sees his rookie quarterback learning from his mistakes and expects that to continue.

“Drake is a competitor. He’s always going to try to go out and make plays,” Mayo said Tuesday. “I think just the way he played, how well he played this year – a lot of times we forget he’s a rookie quarterback – those are lessons we’ve learned.

“I’ve been very open about this, the intangible thing about Drake, aside from his even-keeled demeanor, he learns from his mistakes and I expect that to continue.”

When asked if he might be trying to do too much, Maye disagrees with that premise. He wants to continue making plays, but at the same time recognizes that his turnover numbers need to improve.

“I think there are some important things that happen when we lose the ball, and some of them definitely fall on me,” he said. “That’s why I think we need to reduce turnover and that starts with me. I check the football and throw it incomplete or in the dirt and things like that.

“But I’m still going to be aggressive,” he continued. “That’s how I play. I think it will be good for us in the long run.”

That and a few more competent tacklers and playmakers.

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