Don't look now, but New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is squarely in the NFL MVP conversations again.
Earlier this season, nobody could have expected this to be the case. Through his first three games of the season, the UNC alum threw for 585 yards, one touchdown, and six interceptions. New England went 1-2 in those games. He looked scared behind the pocket, was missing a ton of throws he hit all of last season, and didn't improve his decision-making.
Combine all that with how bad he looked in the playoffs last season, and there were legitimate reasons to be concerned about Maye's short- and long-term outlook. There were real concerns that last season was a fluke, or that his tough playoff run knocked his confidence down too much.
But now, we're about halfway through the regular season, and not only has Maye turned it around; he looks just as good as he did at any point last season (when he finished second in MVP voting), and his best this year may be yet to come.
Drake Maye could very realistically win the MVP award this season
In his last five games, Maye has thrown for 1,398 yards, 14 touchdowns, and two interceptions while running for 134 yards and three additional touchdowns. He has also led the Patriots to a 4-1 record during this stretch.
Among all quarterbacks in the league, Maye ranks sixth in passing yards, tied for fifth in passing touchdowns (Matthew Stafford, Jared Goff, and Brock Purdy), and fifth in quarterback rating, all according to ESPN.com.
On top of that, Maye is doing most of it without Mack Hollins, Romeo Doubs, and A.J. Brown, who have all missed time due to injuries, and without a ton of help from his backfield (TreVeyon Henderson has missed time, but he hasn't been too productive even when he is on the field, and Rhamondre Stevenson has mostly been okay this season, though he played a big role in New England's Week 8 victory against the Miami Dolphins)
All the pressure is on Maye right now to succeed and lead the Patriots to victory, and he has done exactly that. He should only get better once the rest of New England's offense gets healthy.
Will the third-year pro end up winning the MVP award? It's still too early to tell, though nobody is running away with it right now. Players like Josh Allen, Purdy, Joe Burrow, Caleb Williams, Trevor Lawrence, etc., are all making their cases, but it's not like it's a tight race. There's still a lot of football left to be played, and if he keeps building on this momentum, it's going to be tough to keep Maye out of the conversation.
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