FOXBORO — The thirst for the next best thing is real across industries, and the media machine covering the NFL is no different. 

It comes as little surprise, then, that despite Josh Allen only recently elevating into the “league’s best quarterback” stratosphere, people already want to know who will be the next Allen.

For some, Patriots second-year quarterback Drake Maye fits the suit. Big frame. Big arm. Excellent athlete. 

But those are near-impossible shoes to fill. Allen is bigger, he’s proven to be a game-changing open-field runner, and he may have the strongest arm in the league.

That hasn’t kept people from comparing the two, though — especially since their production to this point in the season has been so similar, and because Maye’s second-year output to this point has exceeded that which Allen posted as a second-year player back in 2019.

Patriots wideout Stefon Diggs has seen both up close, having played with Allen in Buffalo from 2020 to 2023. While acknowledging they’re different, he sees similarities.

“I was with young Josh,” Diggs said Wednesday. “He wasn’t that young. And obviously I’m with a young Drake right now. I see the similarities. I try not to get into player comparisons at all. They’re two different young men, but I see why they say that. They play with that mindset, that dog mindset, and I see Drake coming along the same way.”

Maye and Allen have gotten to know each other, as both are represented by Creative Artists Agency. Maye explained this week that he’s been a fan of Allen’s game for some time.

“I got to know him through the same agency,” Maye said. “Got to know him and we share a lot of the same things. We like playing golf. He’s very down to earth, I like to say I’m down to earth. Great player. Golly, it’s fun watching him. He makes plays every week where you’re like, ‘Man, that’s pretty cool.’ He’s MVP of the league. Sadly to say it’s fun to watch him, but we gotta play him on Sunday so it’s a different mindset.”

Earlier this year, Allen sang Maye’s praises for his ability but also his authenticity. Perhaps he’s heard the comparisons between himself and Maye, prompting him to highlight Maye for who he is rather than how he stacks up to anyone else.

“He’s a bright kid,” Allen said. “He can spin the heck out of the ball, he moves well. And he seems like, again, the only thing I ever tell anybody … just be yourself. Be authentic. Know who you are. Don’t try to be somebody that you’re not. And he seems like a kid that is only him, which is cool.”

Maye’s latest performance against the Panthers made him just the third quarterback — along with Allen and Lamar Jackson — in NFL history with multiple games with a 135.0 passer rating, a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown in multiple games in a season.

Statistics like those won’t slow the comparisons between Maye and last year’s MVP. But Maye wasn’t hung up on numbers when asked about Allen and what he’s learned from the Bills star.

“He wants the ball in his hands to win the game,” Maye said. “With the game on the line, the ball’s in Josh’s hands a lot, and he ends up making a play. That’s what I’ve learned.

“He’s so versatile, I think that’s what makes it so tough on defenses. What he can do to extend plays, play in the pocket, in the running game he’s an extra hat. And he’s commanding the offense. He’s been doing that for a while at a very high level. Like I said, fun to watch, but now we’re playing against him.”