With the experienced Mike Vrabel taking over as head coach of the New England Patriots this offseason, some improvements were expected for the young team that finished 4-13 last year. However, few could have predicted the jump they’ve shown through the first seven weeks.
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The Patriots have not just improved in one area, but many. Nearly all, if we’re being honest about how bad they were last year. They are now 5-2 and winners of four straight. And that winning streak includes a prime time victory over the Buffalo Bills, who had beaten the Pats in seven of nine games before budding star QB Drake Maye arrived in 2024.
The Pats now sit atop the AFC East for the first time in a while, thanks in large part to that quarterback. The No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Maye could very well turn out to be the cream of the stacked crop of QBs in that class.
Even the sportsbooks are starting to notice: Maye jumped up to third place on the NFL MVP odds board after Baker Mayfield put up a stinker in Week 7. Behind only Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, Maye is already in great company in just his second season. And when Vrabel was asked, he said the reasons for Maye’s quick ascension are manifold.
“His ability to lead the group, lead the team. Know what’s required of him, what’s required of the head coach. His energy. The way that he talks to the players, the way that he communicates with the coaching staff. Those are all things where I’m trying to help, and I think I can help,” Vrabel said on the Rich Eisen Show.
“And he’s done a great job with that, and improving it, and sharing our message. He says things in a manner that gets their attention,” added the HC.
💻 Mike Vrabel
Drake Maye is in the MVP conversation heading into Week 8, which seemed unfathomable at the beginning of the year — the @Patriots head coach on how he's evaluating the second year QB:#NFL #NEPats pic.twitter.com/mad5ZdrCix
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) October 23, 2025
As Vrabel, a former All-Pro linebacker, pointed out, he’s not a quarterback coach and most likely “never will be.” But that doesn’t mean he can’t provide some insight for Maye, especially when it comes to those intangibles he listed above. Vrabel also said he treated Maye the same as everyone else when he came aboard, which likely endeared both the QB and HC to the rest of the team even more.
“I asked him about his family, I asked him about his experiences, just like I would most of our other players,” Vrabel revealed.
Maye has led this Patriots offense, which was a bottom-three unit last season, to relevance once again. They are currently eighth in scoring (25.9 points per game) and t-14th in total offense (343.3 yards per game). The second-year QB-turned-MVP candidate is leading the league with a nutty 75.2 completion percentage, is tied for the league lead with a 116.4 passer rating, and is also top 10 in TD rate (5.9) and INT rate (1.0).
The Pats play a last-place schedule, so they could make a real run for the division title this year with five wins already banked. That would be one of the biggest preseason upsets of the year by far. If Drake Maye keeps playing like this, it will be hard for teams like the Browns, Giants, Dolphins, and Jets to stop them, however.
