Drake Maye was a few votes from being named the NFL's most valuable player in 2025. How can he follow that up in just his third season as a pro this fall?
Maye was responsible for a New England Patriots revival last fall. The former third overall pick ended the team's long, arduous search for a franchise quarterback (four whole years!) and pushed his team to its first non-Tom Brady Super Bowl since 1996. An encore will be difficult, but not impossible.
The Patriots have reloaded the receiving corps around Maye. They've also made a handful of defensive changes that could either lighten his load or force him to win some shootouts this fall. What can we expect from New England? Let's take a look.
Key addition: WRs AJ Brown and Romeo Doubs
Stefon Diggs was key in Drake Maye's rise from "possible
franchise quarterback?" to MVP runner-up last fall. New England decided it no longer wanted his services despite a solid year (possibly due to off-field drama) and instead made two major offseason moves to bring in Brown and Doubs to top the team's wideout depth chart.
Brown is post-mushroom Super Mario to Kayshon Boutte's smaller version when it comes to winning routes downfield. Doubs is a solid sideline presence who can also slide into the slot as needed, where he's roughly league average. Pair that with Mack Hollins' toolsy presence and whatever the team can wring from Boutte, Kyle Williams and Demario Douglas and a former weak spot has the potential to be an above-average unit for the Patriots.
Key departure: EDGE K'Lavon Chaisson
Jaylinn Hawkins' departure in the secondary was patched with an aging Kevin Byard and an ascending Craig Woodson. Backfilling Chaisson's pass rushing presence will be more difficult; he led all regular edge rushers witha 14.2 percent pressure rate. His 52 pressures and 7.5 sacks were both second on the team.
Dre'Mont Jones was signed to replace him. With 30 extra pounds he'll bring additional bulk against the run and can play on the line, but he's a less effective player on passing downs. Rookie second round pick Gabe Jacas has dealt with injury and an unusual contract holdout before joining the team midway through the preseason. It's entirely possible a pass rush that struggled to turn pressure into sacks last season backslides this fall.
Potential 2026 breakout player: WR Romeo Doubs
Doubs steadily improved across four seasons as a Packer. His catch rate over expected (CROE) rose from-5.5 percent as a rookie to 7.9 percent last fall — 13th-best among qualified wide receivers. Now he's heading to an offense that produced the No. 1 and No. 2 wideouts when it came to exceeding downfield expectations (Kayshon Boutte and Stefon Diggs, neither of whom are on the roster this fall).
Even better, he's going from Green Bay's "everybody eats" passing offense to one with a more defined pecking order. He'll be behind A.J. Brown on Drake Maye's wish list, but should see his targets — and production — explode in Foxborough.
Position ranks
- QB rank (expected points added per dropback, via RBSDM.com): 1
- WR corps rank: 8
- RB corps rank: 13
- TE corps rank: 21
Will they improve in 2026?
No. The Patriots will be a good team, but their path to Super Bowl 60 was paved by circumstance. While the receiving corps has improved, the pass rush is set to decline, making a second-straight AFC title unlikely.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Patriots 2026 season preview: Can Drake Maye defy expectations again?
