Going into his second season with the Patriots, the hype around Drake Maye was real, and it's risen even higher this offseason after he led the team to the Super Bowl this past year. Although his performance wasn't the best down the stretch, it was beyond impressive to see a 23-year-old, Year 2 quarterback lead what had been a 4-13 team to the Championship in the fashion Maye did.
Going into the 2026 season, the expectations remain the same, even if the Patriots' schedule is expected to be much tougher than it was just one year ago.
Regardless, the optimism around what Maye can do for New England has reached an all-time high, and that's now being felt around the league, which is far from what any AFC rival wants to hear, as the Patriots have been at the bottom of the NFL since Tom Brady left in 2020.
He is the first quarterback the team has had under center that legitimately gives them a chance to reclaim their spot at the top of the league, as they almost did last season, and the fact that current and former players are adding to the hype around him surely only makes Patriots' rivals feel even worse about their chances.
That is probably the sentiment being had after hearing Matthew Slater's latest take.
Drake Maye's potential is setting off alarm bells across the NFL ahead of the 2026 season
During a recent appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub, the legendary Patriot had a lot to say about Maye's career thus far and what he imagines his future looks like, too.
Not only does he admit to being biased, of course, but he emphasized how impressed he was with how the quarterback played in his first year with Josh McDaniels, and Slater believes the best is yet to come from that relationship.
"Look, I'm extremely biased because I think Drake is a great young man and obviously he's a special player, but you know, I think you can't really put a ceiling on what they can accomplish with him. You know, I think last year he looked really comfortable in Josh's system, and as he continues to get acclimated and has more command over the offense, the sky is the limit.
He's such a unique talent in this league, and it's certainly an exciting time for the team. You can really feel the buzz, but you saw it last year like this kid is going to be a special, special player."
From the second he was drafted to the glimpses of greatness he showed during his rookie season, it was clear that the Patriots selected the right quarterback to be Brady's true successor, and much of that was validated with his MVP-like performance last year.
He only lost the award by one vote, falling just behind 17-year veteran Matthew Stafford, and that immediately skyrocketed his value and potential in the league, especially with what might be a wide-open AFC.
There are high expectations that McDaniels will continue to bring the best out of Maye in 2026 and beyond, just as Slater says, and now that he will have an improved offensive line and explosive additions to the receiving corps with A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs, what he can accomplish as soon as this fall seems hard to imagine.
But from what Maye has shown so far, he has all the tools to be considered a great quarterback in the league for a long time, and that's something Patriots' foes will just have to learn to accept.
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