Drake Maye keeps exposing just how wrong latest QB rankings are

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) fires the ball downfield during the first quarter against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025.
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) fires the ball downfield during the first quarter against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A big mantra of the New England Patriots over the years has been to "ignore the noise." Oftentimes, the loudest noise comes from national pundits in the form of rankings that generally don't mean much.

In the case of Patriots' second-year quarterback Drake Maye, his play on the field continues to prove that he could be the best quarterback in his draft class. Maye's career did get off to a slow start compared to that of Jayden Daniels, who took Washington to the NFC Championship game as a rookie, but is Maye starting to close the gap in his second year?

Last week's performance against the Tennessee Titans, in which Maye completed more than 90 percent of his passes and led the Patriots to a 31-13 win, is certainly proof of that. But the national pundit, like Bleacher Report, continues to give Daniels a leg up on Maye solely based on last year.

Drake Maye will pass Jayden Daniels before the end of this season

That's quite a hot take, but Daniels is in the midst of a predictable sophomore slump - and he suffered a hamstring injury in a loss to Dallas last week - and the combination of better coaches, players, and a winning system has Maye playing at his potential.

It doesn't hurt that the Patriots are on a roll, having won four straight games and occupying first place in the AFC East. If the season ended today, the Patriots would be the No. 2 seed in the AFC. How many of you had that on your Bingo card in August?

While Bleacher Report did questionably have Maye behind Daniels in their Class of 2024 rankings, Alex Kay remains very high on the second-year quarterback.

"Maye has gone on to improve almost everything about his game in Year 2. Rather than suffer through a sophomore slump like many of his contemporaries, the young passer has taken his game up to the next level and appears to only be scratching the surface of his potential."

Eventually, Maye will surpass Daniels, especially if the Patriots make the playoffs and Washington doesn't. Given Daniels' health, this looks very likely at this point. The biggest factor? Maye has cut back on his turnovers, as he hasn't thrown an interception during New England's three-game win streak.

The better Maye plays, the more the national media will be put on notice. For now, he and the Patriots have to stay focused on winning football games.

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