There are hot quarterback streaks, and then there is what Drake Maye is doing in New England this season. The UNC product is in the midst of a historic, almost unprecedented Year 2 surge that has not only revived the Patriots but also put him shoulder-to-shoulder with legends.
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At 11-2 with 10 straight wins, the Patriots own the NFL’s best record. And, needless to say, it’s all thanks to Maye. The numbers alone paint the picture of a season that should, by all traditional measures, end with the MVP trophy in his hands.
Maye leads the league in passing yards (3,412), completion percentage ( 71.5%), and passer rating (111.9). And if he finishes No. 1 in all three, he would join only Tom Brady (2007), Kurt Warner (2001), and Ken Anderson (1974) as the only quarterbacks to do so since 1970.
Additionally, and most impressively, one may add, Maye’s 23 touchdowns haven’t come in a quarterback-friendly environment. The Patriots’ roster is improved, but still nowhere near the talent-loaded groups that supported quarterbacks like Brady or Patrick Mahomes in their MVP seasons.
Most weeks, Maye is being protected by rookies, role players, and developing pieces. Yet the offense operates with composure and precision. All because, as head coach Mike Vrabel puts it, Maye has fully embraced “being the conductor” of the offense.
The Patriots QB’s leap is historic on many counts. For instance, only six players have ever won MVP in their second season — Jim Brown, Earl Campbell, Dan Marino, Kurt Warner, Patrick Mahomes, and Lamar Jackson. And as we know, each one of them either is in the Hall of Fame or will stroll in on the first ballot.
When one compares their second-year MVP stat lines to Maye’s current pace, the Patriots star is in that conversation with ease. He is either matching or surpassing the early-season efficiency marks those legends posted.
Sportsbooks that began the year pricing Maye at 50-to-1 to win MVP have shifted dramatically. He now sits as the odds-on favorite, ahead of Rams’ Matthew Stafford, and far ahead of every other contender.
That said, inside New England’s orbit, not everyone wants him to win. Former Patriots captain and two-time Super Bowl champion David Andrews made headlines recently with a surprisingly candid take: “Is he the MVP? Yes. Do I want him to win it? No.”
Andrews’ reason is simple: The only season he played with an MVP (Tom Brady’s 2017 campaign) was also the season the Patriots lost the Super Bowl. So for him, an MVP snub could actually harden the team’s edge.
“Imagine this team… sitting in a hotel room before the Super Bowl… Can you imagine if this kid doesn’t win the MVP? They’re gonna be p***ed off,” Andrews said.
That said, can Drake Maye win the MVP award? Absolutely. He has the stats, the narrative, the historical parallels, and even the odds.
