Drake Maye on track to do something no Patriots QB has done since Tom Brady

Drake Maye on track to do something no Patriots QB has done since Tom Brady originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

So far in 2025, Drake Maye is looking like that average kid you were friends with back in third grade before, all of a sudden, they skipped three grades and went on to become a Silicon Valley millionaire.

Maye’s got the people of New England feeling nostalgic for the sparkling QB play they used to enjoy watching in seasons past. And Maye is on track to earn the plaudits a New England Patriots QB hasn’t seen in years. Among many other honors that may or may not be in Mr. Maye’s near future is a likely Pro Bowl nod.

Now, he was technically a Pro Bowler last year, but he was only so-named because Josh Allen chose not to participate. Same thing for Mac Jones when he was named as an injury replacement/alternate after Aaron Rodgers ceded his spot in 2021.

This time, however, Maye is more than likely going to get in on his own merits. Some of the first Pro Bowl voting numbers have come through, and Maye is leading the way. And he’s doing so by a considerable margin (about 16 percent if you want to get technical).

If Maye is voted in as an actual Pro Bowler as he seems likely to do, he will be the first Patriots QB to do so since Tom Brady did it seven long years ago back in 2018.

Drake Maye is putting up historic numbers in his second year as a Patriot

Maye has also bested Brady in some ways so far this year. When considering 12-game starts to a season for Patriots QBs, Maye’s 2025 campaign puts him first in franchise history in completion percentage (71.0, which is also 9th-best in NFL history) and his 110.7 passer rating ranks third behind only Brady’s 2007 and 2016 seasons.

And that’s not all. Maye could very well become the Patriots’ first offensive player to earn First-Team All-Pro honors since Brady and Rob Gronkowski did it in 2017. He could also become only the second player in franchise history to win MVP.

Maye’s evolution from decent rookie to MVP candidate has been near-instantaneous. He’s now the second-favorite for the award in 2025. He sits behind Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford, whose team just lost to the Carolina Panthers to drop to 9-3.

Maye is very much in the race thanks to not only a 10-2 record that places his team as the No. 1 seed in the NFL, but his own elite individual play. He leads the league in completion percentage and is top five in yards, TDs, yards per attempt, and passer rating.

It doesn’t hurt that he’s already reinvigorating a fanbase in New England that likely believed they’d have to wait a generation before they saw a real potential successor to Brady’s throne.

Christmas came early in Boston this year.