Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel had a simple response when asked if Drake Maye is the most valuable player in the NFL this season.
“Yes, he is,” the coach said.
Vrabel has supported his quarterback’s MVP campaign down the stretch of the season and added context to Maye’s case on Monday.
“He’s extremely accurate. He’s made the most of every passing opportunity,” he explained. “We’ve created a lot of X plays, and to create X plays it’s about 30 percent scheme, it’s about 70 percent of the players making
a play and part of that is the quarterback putting it in a great location for run after catch. I think you continue to see that.”
Maye ended the regular season first among quarterbacks with a 72 percent completion percentage, the sixth-highest mark in NFL history and the best in Patriots franchise history surpassing Tom Brady.
That accuracy did not come at the expense of explosive plays downfield either, as Maye’s 8.9 yards per attempt also ranked first in the league.
While Maye’s top competition, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, finished the season with more touchdown passes (46) and passing yards (4,707), New England’s young gunslinger bested the veteran in most other advanced metrics. That includes EPA per drop back (+0.25), QBR (77.2), and passer rating (113.5), all of which led the league.
As Vrabel went on to note, the 23-year old also adds value as a rusher, finishing the season with 450 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
“His ability to extend, use his legs to gain first downs, critical first downs. His ability to score when we’ve asked him to score and run it in,” Vrabel said. “He’s been everything that we’ve asked and he continues to get better. He’s not satisfied.”
Maye’s rise to MVP level play has propelled the 14-win Patriots back into the playoff picture for the first time since 2021. With Maye under center, the Patriots believe they can go on a long postseason run which begins with a Wild Card matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers.
“I know that our success of where we are right now, today, has a lot to do with Drake Maye,“ Vrabel said.
