By now, you probably know that Drake Maye has a serious case to be the NFL’s MVP in 2025. But, what is it, exactly, that has turned Maye into one of the game’s elite quarterbacks seemingly overnight?
New England’s supporting cast and offensive infrastructure are much improved compared to last year, but this still isn’t a group filled with high-end talent. Maye has done as much to lift his offense as any QB in football so far this season. And the results have been spectacular.
Quarterbacks with Maye’s physical profile often have eye-popping arm power. Think about Josh Allen lighting up the radar gun on a throw over the middle, or Justin Herbert launching a javelin on a hole shot from the opposite hashmark.
Maye has no trouble spinning it, but his knack for shaping and altering his throws is really what has stood out so far this season.
Maye is an ideal representation of the difference between arm strength and arm talent. The best pure throwers in the league don’t get there because they can throw the ball through a brick wall. They get there because they can manipulate throws however they want. They have every club in their bag. Matthew Stafford, Lamar Jackson, prime Aaron Rodgers — Maye already deserves mention alongside the true greats when it comes to this facet of his game. Twenty-five starts into his career.
The best throws on Maye’s tape are jaw-dropping, but the most special part of his game might be the way he moves — and likely not in the way you’re thinking.
Even at college in North Carolina, Maye was an incredible scrambler for a player his size. Even in a 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame, Maye routinely picked up multiple first downs per game with his legs, and that trend has continued in the NFL.
But the movements in Maye’s game that set him apart aren’t the splashy highlight runs. It’s the subtle work he does in and out of the pocket that has the second-year quarterback looking like a fully formed 10-year veteran. And it’s this area of his game that most resembles the last star QB in New England.
No one would mistake Tom Brady for Michael Vick, but Brady’s ability to navigate the pocket was a key part of what made him one of the greatest quarterbacks ever. His efficiency in getting to the same landmark and operating from a small platform made life easier for his offensive line, and his knack for casually sliding up and around that space helped to neutralize opposing pass rushes.
A year and a half into his time in New England, Maye is already showing off a juiced-up ability to do the same. Even this early in his career, Maye is a master mover in condensed spaces. Like Brady, his feel for proper depth and finding creases of space make his offensive line better. But Maye’s overall athleticism also allows him to weaponize that feel in ways few QBs can.
Whether it’s while climbing, drifting away from pressure, or plainly escaping trouble and making plays on the move, Maye is able to make accurate throws from virtually any platform. And it has put him in a different stratosphere than nearly every QB in the league this year in one particular area.
On its own, Maye’s MVP-caliber season isn’t shocking. He was more efficient as a rookie than nearly any QB dropped into his situation could have been. Maye always had the talent for a Lamar- or Mahomes-type leap in Year 2. It’s the refinement of his game, though, that has been so jarring.
The sloppy decisions from Maye’s rookie year are gone. His work as a passer and a pocket manipulator has gone from promising to pristine. Even if Maye always had a chance to become this type of player, it wasn’t supposed to happen this fast. But it has, and it has made him a worthy MVP frontrunner for a Patriots team that has taken the league by storm.