Drake Maye has been making rounds in the NFL space for his wild winning streak, with fans and analysts hyping him up equally. In fact, some believe he’s a living clone of Tom Brady, bringing the New England Patriots to heights they haven’t seen since Brady’s exit. Maye’s also leading the MVP race in the process.
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But recently, Emmanuel Acho took the praise a step further. He claims that there is no other QB in the NFL doing so much with so few offensive weapons right now than Maye.
To be fair, when the former linebacker-turned-analyst laid out his reasons, it was hard to deny his argument.
“There is not a player in football that has done more with less than Drake Maye,” Acho began on an episode of Speakeasy. And immediately, Acho’s co-host, LeSean McCoy, recoiled and wanted an explanation. He couldn’t believe the hot take he had just heard, and couldn’t fully get on board with it.
Acho, however, had some solid reasons to defend his claim. He pointed out that Maye’s supporting cast isn’t full of All-Pros anywhere. Meanwhile, there are other teams at the top of the NFL relying on superstar players for their success.
“I don’t know if the Patriots will have another All-Pro on their offense. I don’t know that they will. I don’t know if Stefon Diggs will make All-Pro this year. I don’t know if TreyVeyon Henderson will make All-Pro this year. I don’t know that Hunter Henry will make All-Pro this year,” Acho listed.
The former player then took a look at the current landscape around the other leading MVP candidates and related it to Maye.
“I do know in Indianapolis, they’ll probably have an offensive lineman that’s All-Pro, or two… I do know in Los Angeles, with the Rams, Davante Adams or Puka Nacua will likely make All-Pro this year,” Acho added.
The Colts’ elite offensive line has ensured that running back Jonathan Taylor is included in the top 4 odds for the MVP award as of today. On the other hand, the addition of Adams has allowed Matthew Stafford to go on a magical run.
And it can’t be overlooked that Maye is leading the race with a supporting cast of Diggs, Henderson, Mack Hollins, and a host of other speedy, unknown wideouts.
All in all, it was a solid argument that Acho made for Maye’s MVP case. So far, he’s thrown for 2,836 yards, which leads the NFL. He’s also tossed 20 TD passes to just 5 INTs, and has a QBR of 74.1, good for fourth in the league.
With the NFL’s easiest strength of schedule up to this point, some may argue that Maye has taken advantage of weak opponents. But he’s done so emphatically. And with the easiest strength of schedule for the rest of the season, it’s easy to see a path where Maye keeps up the strong play and contends for the MVP by season’s end.
