Since the Patriots chose Drake Maye with the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the hype around what the quarterback could become has only increased. Although there was some skepticism at first, given his overall inexperience as a starter at UNC compared to the other rookies drafted ahead of him, he provided much more optimism about the Patriots' future than previous starters.
Over the last two years, Maye has developed into one of the most accurate passers in the league, even falling shy of winning last season's MVP Award by just one vote, all while having a far less impressive group around him than his fellow draft mates Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams.
Even more impressive is that he has already worked with two offensive coordinators, and based on what we saw in 2025, it certainly didn't look like his first year with Josh McDaniels.
Going into this season, expectations are the highest they have been for the 24-year-old, and although the Patriots are set to face one of the toughest schedules in the league, there is plenty of confidence that Maye can lead the team back to the Super Bowl, just as he did earlier this year.
Because of that, there are some analysts, not all, since many are already dismissing the Patriots as a legitimate contender this year, who are buying into the Maye hype train.
Some, like Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, are going even further by stating their belief that they will soon become the best player in football, which is a bold statement for a quarterback going into Year 3.
Albert Breer's bold take is something Patriots fans will love to hear about Drake Maye
While speaking about ESPN's latest quarterback rankings, which placed Maye at No. 8, Breer shared that he would've ranked him higher, while also boldly claiming his belief that the quarterback has a chance to be considered the best player in football in just a few years.
That's the kind of support that Patriots fans have longed for since the team began searching for the rightful successor to Tom Brady.
"I think there could be a point in two, three, four years where we're talking about him and he's the best player in football. I think his ceiling is that high."
For those of us who are superstitious, as great as this is to hear, it's also a big scary because it could potentially jinx the bright future Maye appears to have.
But if you're only a little -stitious, then this is still great to hear, and it's almost unbelievable that more analysts don't have this view, or even something close to it, given what we've already seen from Maye thus far in his career.
Now that he is set to have the best offensive line group he's had to work with and an improved receiving corps led by A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs, it would be fair to say that the best is yet to come, which is remarkable given he was the runner-up to the MVP last season.
It puts a lot of pressure on him to continue building on what he's already accomplished, and hopefully he has the confidence to deliver even more than we've already seen. He hasn't given anyone a reason to believe he can't, and that makes the 2026 season even more exciting to look forward to.
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