Drake Maye has only been in the league for two full seasons, but he's heard it all already. Some claimed he was Will Levis 2.0 and that the New England Patriots reached to get him, and he responded by leading the team to the Super Bowl in his first full season as a starter.
Maye completed 72% of his passes for 4,394 yards, 31 touchdowns, and just eight interceptions. He also scrambled 103 times for 450 yards and four scores, falling just short of his first career MVP.
However, it looks like not even that was enough to earn some respect. Talking on CBS Sports, NFL reporter John Breech argued that, while he doesn't see him falling off a cliff next season, he won't be able to live up to the hype.
The doubters keep getting it all wrong with Drake Maye
"He's set expectations so high for this upcoming season that I don't think he can live up to them," Breech said. "... I don't think [Drake Maye] gets a single MVP vote this year."
Breech praised Maye for what he did in the regular season, but he doesn't think he has a chance to do it again against tougher opposition. He didn't like what he saw in the playoffs, and he thinks that's closer to where Maye is in his development.
Once again, the 'easy schedule' argument is giving the Patriots' doubters ammo. Yes, the road to the Super Bowl was easy, and Maye wasn't as sharp late on, but we're talking about a 23-year-old leading a team the distance in his second year in the league.
The Patriots replaced Stefon Diggs with A.J. Brown and also added Romeo Doubs to the mix. They bolstered the offensive line with Alijah Vera-Tucker, and the team will gain continuity in their second full training camp under Mike Vrabel and company.
Maye has taken big strides since he first made it to the league. He's the ultimate film rat and workaholic, so why wouldn't he be as good, if not better, with another year of experience and full ownership of the playbook?
Expectations aren't higher for Maye and the Patriots. On the contrary, everyone is waiting for their downfall and expecting them to fail, to dust off the good-old easy-schedule narrative.
And even if that weren't the discourse around him, a pro's work is to shut down the outside noise and focus on the task at hand.
We get it, news can be slow this time of the year, and content is king. Hot take specialists need to feed the algorithm, which often leads people to say things they don't actually believe, like that Maye won't get a single MVP vote in 2026.
Really? A guy who has done and said all the right things, who plays in a big market, and who just got a top-five wide receiver won't get a single MVP vote? We don't gamble, but that sounds like a losing bet right there.
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