When the Patriots selected quarterback Drake Maye with the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the excitement around his potential to finally be the player they had been looking for in the post-Tom Brady era grew to new heights. He was already considered one of the best prospects of the class and deemed a day-one starter, which is exactly what New England needed for the following season.
After a bumpy start to training camp, it was clear that Maye was the QB1, even if the Patriots planned to have veteran Jacoby Brissett be the Week 1 starter. Once the rookie officially replaced Brissett in Week 6, it was apparent he probably should have been in that role since the start of the season, but there had been concerns about his development under the Jerod Mayo regime.
Having Maye work with an unimpressive offensive coordinator like Alex Van Pelt raised fans' concerns and fears about wasting his potential in the league, leading most to hope the play-caller would be replaced during the 2025 offseason.
That came to fruition with the firing of Mayo and nearly all of his staff, bringing in Mike Vrabel and the triumphant return of Josh McDaniels, which is already earning the Patriots quite a reputation around the league before the 2025 season.
The combination of Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel is already worrying teams around the NFL
Now that New England has brought in an established head coach who had a successful career with the Titans and appears to have found their quarterback of the future, the Patriots are not far behind from being a team back on the map again. It might take a while to become a legitimate threat in the AFC, but the partnership of Vrabel and Maye is already drawing concerns from teams around the league, especially the division.
That's according to new reporting from The Boston Herald's Andrew Callahan and Doug Kyed, who spoke to an AFC East scout in recent weeks about the changes made to the Patriots this offseason.
“An AFC East scout described Vrabel and Maye as a ‘deadly combination’ and said it’s ‘scary’ to see the Patriots putting the right pieces in place, including (Eliot) Wolf and vice president of player personnel (Ryan) Cowden. One team source called Vrabel and Maye ‘the best things going’ for the Patriots.”
Considering they are even yet to have a practice run by Vrabel, it's pretty telling that a scout from the division is already feeling intimidated by the moves the Patriots have made and the pairing of this new head coach and quarterback.
To make matters worse for the competition, there should be more concern over McDaniels's return to New England, where he's been the most successful, and his partnership with Maye. What they could accomplish might be even more worrisome for those who have heavily relied on the Patriots' downfall, as the sky is the limit for the offensive duo.
It certainly puts a team like the Bills on notice, who have reigned supreme in the years since Brady left for the Bucs. They have arguably only seen that kind of success because of it, and now they have a solid up-and-coming quarterback to be worried about, on top of an ever-evolving defense that has added some dominant talent in free agency thus far.