There is a lot to look forward to during the 2025 season for Patriots fans, with perhaps the most exciting part being the development of presumed franchise quarterback Drake Maye. Although he didn't receive the official start during his rookie season until Week 6, and the team didn't manage to win many games for the rest of the way, he impressed with his skill set and potential, all of which should be significantly improved this fall.
The presence of Mike Vrabel as the head coach, Josh McDaniels returning as the offensive coordinator, and an upgraded offense should make Maye have a breakout year, which hasn't been the unanimous belief among analysts over the past few months.
However, the latest projection from Patriots Wire's Cam Garrity suggests that those analysts are behind the times and may be making a mistake by not predicting the young quarterback to have a massive second-year jump.
Drake Maye is predicted to make massive strides in certifying his status as the Patriots next franchise star
Among the predictions that Garrity saw from using ChatGPT to project Patriots' starters' stat lines this fall is the impressive performance by Maye.
During his rookie season, in just 12 games as the starter, he completed 225 of 338 passes (66.6%) for 2,276 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. It wasn't a stat line that garnered a lot of attention, especially considering how fellow 2024 rookie Jayden Daniels performed and the hype around Caleb Williams.
However, it did impress many, considering what Maye had to work with, which wasn't all that impressive. Now that he will have a more experienced coach and coordinator to work with, along with improved offensive talent around him, we could see the real potential in him this fall, which is reflected in the latest projections.
Garrity's experiment prompted this prediction for Maye's second season: throwing for 4,307 passing yards with a completion percentage of 66.1%, 36 touchdowns, eight interceptions, and a passer rating of 104.3.
That's a massive step in the right direction and potentially one of the best second-year jumps a quarterback has ever accomplished in the NFL. It would solidify his status as the quarterback of the future in Foxboro, and thankfully so, as they have struggled to find the right guy for the job since Tom Brady left in 2020.
He immediately becomes something the team can build on and puts them back on track to relevancy much sooner than anyone anticipated, especially those who hoped they would continue their downfall for much longer than five years.