The New England Patriots found themselves in a position to make a franchise-altering decision in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, and two years later it very much seems like they made the right choice. Drake Maye has developed into one of the most exciting quarterbacks in football, and a true difference maker at the position.
While he ultimately fell short of leading the Patriots to a championship in his second season, he has shown that the sky can indeed be the limit for him. So, with that said,
let’s take a closer look at the Patriots’ starting QB to find out where he is at in his development entering his third season.
Hard facts
Name: Drake Maye
Position: Quarterback
Jersey number: 10
Opening day age: 24 (8/30/2002)
Measurements: 6’4 3/8”, 225 lbs, 32 1/4” arm length, 76 1/8” wingspan, 9 1/8” hand size, N/A Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL: New England Patriots (2024-) | College: North Carolina (2021-23)
Growing up as the youngest of four brothers in a family of athletes, Maye started playing football at age 4. He later attended William Amos Hough High School in Cornelius, NC, as a freshman before transferring to Myers Park in Charlotte, NC. He won the Mustangs’ starting quarterback job right away, and ended his prep career with 6,713 passing yards as well as 86 touchdowns — all while also playing basketball at an All-District level.
A four-star recruit, Maye drew interest from some of the most prestigious colleges in the country from early in his high school career. He originally committed to Alabama, but later changed course and stayed home at the University of North Carolina.
After attempting only 10 passes as a freshman and eventually redshirting, Maye took over as the Tar Heels’ starting quarterback during his 2022 sophomore campaign. He burst onto the scene right away and after throwing for 4,321 yards with 38 TDs and seven INTs received ACC Player of the Year honors, among other accolades. The following season saw a dip in production, in large part due to several departures on offense, but he still finished his junior campaign with a respectable 3,608 passing yards as well as 24 TDs and nine INTs.
Despite having two years of eligibility left, Maye decided to leave school after the 2023 season. He ended up getting selected third overall by the Patriots in the 2024 NFL Draft, making him one of six quarterbacks picked in the first round.
Maye began his tenure as the Patriots’ second-string quarterback behind Jacoby Brissett, but eventually was promoted to the starting role in Week 6 of his rookie season. He never looked back and steadily developed into one of the best young QBs in the league over his first two years. In total, he has appeared in 34 regular season and playoff games with 33 starts, going a combined 649-of-950 as a passer for 7,498 yards, 52 touchdowns and 22 interceptions.
He additionally earned several individual accolades. Maye was voted to two Pro Bowls, named second-team All-Pro, won the Bert Bell Award, is an MVP runner-up, and set numerous franchise records in his two seasons in New England.
Scouting report
Strengths: Combining ideal size and athletic ability, Maye is a prototypical modern day NFL quarterback. He can perform within the structure of a play and make every throw in the book, but is also comfortable when forced to improvise or extend plays either to set up the pass or advance the ball himself as a runner.
Maye has tremendous natural arm talent. He has a quick, uninterrupted release and keeps his velocity from different platforms and arm angles. He additionally possesses a good feel for varying the zip he puts on the ball; he is not just a cannonball passer but has shown the ability to deliver balls with touch. He is an accurate thrower whose ball placement, anticipation, and timing are all advanced considering his stage of development. He also is willing and able to push the ball down the field; he is one of the best deep-ball passers in the NFL already.
After starting his career in a backup capacity, he showed tremendous strides since entering the starting lineup early in his rookie regular season. His processing and command at the line of scrimmage both took another leap forward in 2025, and he confidently goes through his progressions and has shown the ability to work full-field reads. He also has a good vision of the field both pre- and post-snap, and also can identify blitzers, pressure looks and coverage disguises, making the proper line calls to adjust.
Besides his immense arm talent, Maye offers A-tier dual-threat ability. Despite standing at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, he has good acceleration and agility, and can break contain in an instant. He has good lower-body flexibility and nimble feet both as a dropback passer and when running with the football in his hands.
That said, he is not over-reliant on carrying the football and is willing to step up in the pocket. Even though he took off on scrambles 119 times between his rookie and sophomore campaigns, he is a passer first and tries to only move out of the pocket as a runner if the play either calls for it or no alternatives present themselves. At times, he showed that he can be a “live another down” quarterback rather than somebody trying to make plays at all costs. That said, his playmaking ability is still one of his biggest assets and something that will keep defenses honest at all times.
Weaknesses: The two big words when it comes to Maye at this stage in his development are consistency and experience. Having started just 33 games since entering the NFL in 2024, his inexperience shines through on occasion. He still can get better at processing and working the entire field, despite massive strides under new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels in 2025 and a significant jump in success rate. He also needs to learn to get settled down at times, and not let negative plays throw him off rhythm or start snowballing.
His mechanical consistency remains a work in progress, especially in those high-pressure situations. His feet can get sloppy from time to time, creating a disconnect between his lower and upper body (which in turn results in off-target throws and more pressure on his arm to bail him out). He sometimes also falls back to the somewhat awkward arm angles he used in college, as well as his tendency to look for plays when none are there to be made.
In general, ball security has been a concern in both of his seasons in the league. While his interception numbers are in a reasonable range, 24 fumbles in 1,322 combined career dropbacks and carries — basically one every 55 such plays — is too high a number for a quarterback with MVP aspirations.
2025 review
Stats: 21 games (21 starts) | 1,314 offensive snaps (96.8%) | 424-of-612 (69.3%), 5,222 passing yards, 37 TDs, 12 INTs | 284 times pressured (68 sacks, 46 hits, 170 hurries), 15 FMBs, 7 FLs | 102 carries (excl. 30 kneel-downs), 664 rushing yards (6.5/carry), 5 TDs | 2 targets, 1 catch (50%), 2 receiving yards | 2 penalties (incl. 0 declined/offsetting)
Season recap: Coming off a promising rookie season that saw him finish eighth in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting despite starting out as a backup and playing on a 4-13 team, Maye saw the Patriots completely rebuild their coaching staff. As part of the transition from Jerod Mayo to Mike Vrabel, the team also made changes at offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, meaning that in his four seasons as a starter between college and NFL, he had to work with four different OCs.
However, Josh McDaniels and QB coach Ashton Grant coming aboard in place of Alex Van Pelt and T.C. McCartney, respectively, further accelerated Maye’s development. While he was a promising but ultimately raw player in 2024, he emerged to the upper-echelon of quarterbacks during his sophomore season.
McDaniels’ arrival brought with it a change in scheme and verbiage as well as heightened responsibility on the QB as far as line calls are concerned. Maye very much was trusted to run the show, and he proved himself capable of doing so. He did all that while the changes went beyond coaching: the Patriots also rebuilt a significant portion of his supporting cast, bringing in the likes of Stefon Diggs, Mack Hollins and Kyle Williams, as well as inserting new starters at all but one offensive line position.
All of that turnover paired with Maye’s impressive ability to adapt and natural progression from Year 1 to Year 2 set the stage for a remarkable season.
For starters, Maye led the Patriots to their first Super Bowl since 2018 and their first division title and playoff berth since 2019. He also set multiple franchise records, was named to both the Pro Bowl and second All-Pro team, and finished second to only Matthew Stafford in MVP voting.
That being said, the story of Maye’s 2025 campaign is more complex than those accomplishments would suggest. While there were plenty of highs, there also were considerable lows.
Among the clear positives was the aforementioned progression. While no two seasons or games are alike, there was statistical improvement across the board from the 2024 to the 2025 regular season. The standout categories were completion percentage, which jumped from an already-solid 66.6% to a franchise record and NFL-leading 72%, as well as expected points added per play going from -0.007 to 0.313, which was tops in the league once more.
Maye simply was a more efficient and more productive player as a sophomore, which was to be expected off his rookie season. However, the rate of his development was at times staggering — as were some of the plays he made.
Whether it was pin-point accuracy, one of the most devastating deep balls in the NFL, or his ability to challenge defenses with his legs both as an out-of-structure QB or a runner, Maye played at a high level throughout the regular season. His season totals of 4,394 passing yards and 31 touchdowns both entered the Patriots’ record books in eighth place, while he also managed to keep his interceptions low and showed some necessary improvement in the fumble department.
The playoffs, however, were a different story for Maye and the Patriots offense as a whole.
There still were moments of pure excellence, like his touchdown pass to Kayshon Boutte against the Texans in the divisional round or his scoring pass to Mack Hollins in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. However, those plays were complemented by a quarterback appearing more skittish and uncomfortable than he had at any point during the regular season.
Not all of the issues can directly be blamed on him, with both his pass catchers and his offensive line struggling against some of the best defenses in the NFL. However, unlike the regular season, Maye failed to elevate those around him and at times tried to force his way to success and revert back to some of the “hero ball” tendencies he showed in college and as a rookie.
The result was an uptick in turnovers that repeatedly put the Patriots in difficult situations. After throwing eight interceptions and losing three of eight fumbles in 683 regular season dropbacks and runs, he had four picks and saw four of seven fumbles go the other way in the tournament. His giveaway rate went from once every 62 plays to once every 22 plays in the playoffs.
Again, turnover production is more nuanced than blaming one player. However, it was clear that Maye’s ball security was not where it needed to be throughout the postseason. As a consequence, an otherwise stellar campaign ended on a sour note.
On the whole, however, both he and the team can feel very good about Maye’s 2025 season. Despite some difficult circumstances with all the changes surrounding him, he showed clear improvement across the board and that he truly is the face of the franchise he was drafted to be.
2026 preview
Position: Starting quarterback | Ability: Blue-chip starter | Contract: Signed through 2027 (2028 UFA)
What will be his role? The same it had been since Week 6 of in his rookie season: Maye is the Patriots’ starting quarterback and if healthy will play every meaningful snap during the regular season and playoffs. Given his qualities and track record, even in light of his ups and downs in the 2025 postseason, there is not even a hint of a QB competition in New England, and there probably won’t be for a number of years.
What is his growth potential? Maye made a massive leap forward in 2025 but still has some areas he needs to improve to truly become one of the top quarterbacks in football year in and year out. His consistency especially in regards to his ball security stands out; if he can cut down on fumbles and forced plays, he should be able to move past his playoff ups-and-downs and quickly settle in as a perennial All-Pro and MVP candidate. He already is at an immensely high level, though, or a 23-year-old, and should still only get better from this point on and with more experience working under head coach Mike Vrabel and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
Does he have positional versatility? As far as the quarterback position is concerned, the answer is “yes.” Maye has been one the most efficient rushing quarterbacks in football since entering the NFL, and has a true dual-threat skillset. Whether or not the Patriots will begin leaning into it more remains to be seen; his designed carries in both 2024 and 2025 were few and far between, and he made most of his plays as one of the league’s top scrambling QBs. The potential for an expanded role in the run game is undeniable, even though Mike Vrabel and company likely want to reduce his exposure to a minimum — especially after he hurt his shoulder on a scramble in the AFC Championship Game.
What is his salary cap situation? Entering the third year of his rookie contract, Maye is playing on a salary cap hit of $9.99 million. While that number is substantial and ranked ninth on the team at the moment, it marks only the 24th-highest quarterback cap hit in the NFL. The number itself is guaranteed in full and consists of a $1.08 million base salary, $5.87 million signing bonus proration, and $3.05 million roster bonus. Next offseason, Maye will be eligible for a contract extension or the fifth-year contract option to at least lock him up through 2028.
How safe is his roster spot? Maye is among the elite few players on the Patriots’ roster whose position on the team is carved in stone. Not only has he shown top-tier quarterback qualities in his young career, he also might be one of the biggest bargains in the entire NFL.
Summary: Ever since being elevated to the Patriots’ starting quarterback position early in his rookie season, Maye has been on an upward trajectory. As a consequence, even after an at-times lackluster playoff performance, there is zero doubt about his qualities and standing on the team: he is one of the most promising quarterbacks in football and New England’s most important player.
What do you think about Drake Maye heading into the 2026 season? Where will he grow the most? Or is he due a step back after his impressive sophomore campaign? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.
