New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye put together a spectacular 2025 campaign by establishing himself as one of the top QB prospects in the league. The second-year signal-caller set a franchise record by throwing for over 100+ passer ratings in 13 games during a single season and leading his team to an impressive playoff run. So, naturally, when your quarterback is coming off a career year where he led the league in passer rating (113.5) and secured an MVP-caliber year, expectations run sky high.

“They’re telling people this: ‘Look out for the quarterback this year. You thought he was good last year, wait till you see him now.’… From what I understand, it’s the mentality. It’s how much he knows the offense even more. It’s how he has the tools,” said insider Greg Bedard in an interview with the Patriots on CLNS.

Under Mike Vrabel, Drake Maye recorded 4,394  passing yards and 31 touchdowns in 17 regular-season games and helped his team win the AFC East division title. However, the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Patriots 29-13 during Super Bowl XL to squash their near-perfect season.

During his rookie season as well, Maye had a decent output, with 2,276 passing yards and 15 TDs in 13 regular-season games. The Patriots, on the other hand, had a terrible 4-13 season, resulting in head coach Jared Mayo’s firing and Mike Vrabel’s appointment as a replacement. For Vrabel, Maye stood as the biggest factor behind joining the Patriots.

“It’s a large part of the reason that I wanted to be here,” Vrabel said earlier in February this year. “There were plays in training camp and things that he did—the accuracy outside the pocket or on the move, the way he plays the position, he has an athletic nature to the way he plays the position. I think that’s somewhat unique. Everybody has a different skill set, and he’s comfortable in the pocket. I think his ability to transfer up in the pocket, to make moves, to make throws off platform and at different angles has been impressive.”

The 23-year-old QB has already set the tone from Day 1. Maye and cornerback Christian Gonzalez headlined the list of players who chose to report immediately on April 20 for voluntary strength and conditioning. And when the OTAs kick off on May 27, Maye is expected to lead the full team in 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills.

The Athletic’s Chad Graff also identified Drake Maye as one of New England’s offseason winners and how the Patriots have bolstered their offense around the 23-year-old.

“It’s incredibly rare for a young quarterback to have a breakout season in which he becomes an MVP candidate and then reaches the Super Bowl — and then return the following year to an improved roster with all of the same offensive coaches,” Graff wrote. “But that’s precisely what happened for Maye.”

For a broader context, Maye will be playing under the same offensive coordinator (Josh McDaniels) for a consecutive season. Along with that, he no longer needs to translate a new playbook and is already comfortable with the Patriots’ offensive system.

ESPN analyst ranks Drake Maye among the top QBs ahead of the 2026 season

Most of the criticism following Drake Maye’s performance during the 2025 season was directed at his postseason performance. However, ESPN’s Mina Kimes ranked Drake Maye based on his overall performance during his first two seasons in the league.

She ranked Maye as the fifth-best QB in a three-year outlook, following Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, Bills’ Josh Allen, Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, and Bengals’ Joe Burrow. These quarterbacks are recognized as some of the best in the league, and with only two seasons of experience, Maye has joined that distinguished group. Kimes also explained her reasoning behind this assessment.

“Drake Maye… he was so obviously to me last season what made that Patriots offense,” said Kimes. “Statistically, he was the best quarterback in football last year during the regular season. This is a three-year timeline, and I’m picking this young quarterback to continue getting better. He is the sort of athlete that always gets drafted top-five or top-10 at quarterback, period. There’s no reason to be anything less than shiningly gloriously optimistic about Maye moving forward.”

Kimes also hopes that Drake Maye will continue working with a similar form in the 2026 season. As things stand, Maye will be joining the Phase 3 offseason training program with the New England Patriots. Following that, he will lead the charge in the preseason games, where they face the Colts, Eagles, and Browns.

While the Patriots appear confident in Maye, it will be interesting to see how the 2026 season pans out for the 23-year-old QB.