Patriots' Drake Maye Cracks QB Rankings, But Still Has Work To Do
There wasn't any questions about the talent that New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has. His sophomore season made that quite clear.
But plenty of arguments were made about where Maye stacked up to the rest of the players at his position across the league. Had his MVP-like season catapulted him to the top of the list, or did he still have ways to go to reach the mountaintop?
ESPN's annual position rankings were released, and according to coaches, executives and scouts polled by Jeremy Fowler, Maye's placement was ... not bad by any stretch of the imagination.
Maye was ranked eighth among all 32 NFL signal callers, his first time being mentioned on the list. He was behind Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Matthew Stafford, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Dak Prescott and Justin Herbert. His highest ranking was fifth-best, according to Fowler, while Maye was also unranked by some people polled.
But Maye was a popular choice on the ballots this summer, a good sign for how he's viewed league-wide.
Maye's Impressive Season Got Him Recognized League-Wide
"Maye's Super Bowl run and near-MVP performance elevated him into the elite discussion, though still on the fringes," Fowler wrote. "He appeared on more than 60% of the ballots and earned many fifth-place votes.
"Maye is the third NFL quarterback since 2006 to lead the NFL in Total QBR (77.1), completion percentage (72%) and yards per attempt (8.93). The others were Tony Romo (2014) and (Tom) Brady (2007)."
The 23-year-old's 2025 campaign was one for the record books. He became just the fourth quarterback in franchise history to start a Super Bowl, setting a Patriots single-season record for competition percentage in the process. He sparked a once-dormant offense and helped bring it to life.
All of that -- the 17 total wins combined between the regular season and postseason -- came as a result from his winning plays. Even with a weaker surrounding group that some of the other quarterbacks
"Size, athleticism, accuracy, playmaking upside through the roof, poise and toughness," an NFL coordinator said. "He had zero weapons and a shaky OL, and made it all work."
"He's really talented, but I need to see more," a veteran NFC defensive coach said. "Other quarterbacks on this list have proven it over time, and he's got to keep doing it."
What Needs To Happen For A Better Placement?
So while Maye did get the better of Allen in the AFC East standings last season, and finished the year as the final AFC quarterback standing, he still has some bit to go to climb higher.
He's got to continue his trend of high-level play into a third season. The thing that makes the good quarterbacks so good is how their plays extends throughout each season. The players like Allen, Mahomes, Burrow and Stafford are able to string together season after season of productive quarterback play (though Mahomes did struggle at times last year before getting hurt. You get the point).
That's what Maye needs to do.
He's got the superstar capabilities to make every throw on the field, evade pressure from defenders and use his legs to pick up extra yardage. Nobody is questioning that. The one thing that they might be questioning is if it was a fluke.
The Patriots went all-in this offseason, bolstering up the offensive line in front of Maye and bringing in A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs to play receiver. There can't be any more excuses about a weaker supporting cast for Maye. He's shown that he can perform at the highest level, he now needs to do that each fall until he's the one at the top of the list.
"In 2024, multiple teams wanted to trade up in the draft for Maye, the No. 3 pick that year," Fowler wrote. "New England smartly kept the pick -- and it now has a long-term solution at the game's most important position."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/patriots/onsi as Patriots' Drake Maye Cracks QB Rankings, But Still Has Work To Do.
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This story was originally published July 14, 2026 at 7:00 AM.