Over the past two years, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has received a lot of hype and praise from New England fans and media for all the right reasons. Beyond being excited that they finally appear to have the right successor to Tom Brady after five years of failed attempts, the UNC alum has proven he's the real deal with his performance on and off the field.
He made that beyond apparent in his second season, as he fell just short of winning the MVP Award for the 2025 season behind seasoned veteran Matthew Stafford.
On top of that, he helped lead the Patriots to the Super Bowl, and although it didn't end how anyone hoped, he still put together an impressive campaign as a young quarterback in the league that immediately made him a household name.
There are plenty of fans outside New England that will argue that isn't true, but as we saw throughout this past year's free agency, players sought out the Patriots to sign with because of Maye, and we're starting to hear it even more as training camp nears.
Kevin Byard was intrigued by the Patriots because of Drake Maye
Perhaps their most notable free agent signing this year was safety Kevin Byard III, who played for Mike Vrabel in Tennessee.
After accomplishing arguably the best season of his career with the Bears in 2025, he decided to reunite with his former head coach, while also citing Maye as a major reason he wanted to join the Patriots during the first episode of "Forged in Foxboro" last week.
“That’s a guy you wanna play for… The sky is the limit for this guy. He can be one of the best quarterbacks in this league for a long time.
Over these years that he’s gonna be here in New England and playing, you’re gonna get a lot of guys that wanna come play with him… He has that type of aura and that type of ability.”
That's not exactly what the NFL wants to hear about the Patriots at this point, as the rest of the league was banking on them remaining at the bottom for much longer than just five years.
But if you're the Patriots, it's the best thing to hear about your young quarterback and the future of your franchise, as it has been beyond difficult for the team to sign the caliber of free agents the roster needed for far too long.
Now that they have an established quarterback, along with a respected head coach and offensive coordinator, it's clear that free agents are going to circle New England as a desirable destination once again.
The fact that Maye has already made that impression in such a short amount of time is impressive and says a lot about how he is viewed across the league. Hopefully, the best is yet to come.
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