The New England Patriots have undergone a massive cultural and performance metamorphosis over the past year, and a good part of the credit should go to their much-maligned owner, Robert Kraft. Kraft rebounded from five years of dreadful decision-making to get two major things right. One was insisting that the Patriots draft quarterback Drake Maye.
The other, while it may have been a year latewas his hiring of Mike Vrabel. Now, Kraft notes that the quality he likes best in Maye is his humility.
Kraft's ensuring that the Patriots selected Maye and didn't do what some observers suggested and trade the 3rd overall pick in the 2024 draft was the makings of the 2025 AFC East winners. That decision helped prompt Mike Vrabel to sign with the Patriots.
No Maye, likely no Vrabel. Kraft has taken his lumps for his poor moves; he deserves kudos for the two that have taken his listing ship and not only righted it but turned it into a super carrier.
It was Vrabel who built an offense around Maye in one offseason that could actually challenge for the NFL championship. He rebuilt the offensive line to the tune of four new starters. He added four new receivers who could actually catch the ball.
And he drafted an explosive running back who ripped off four touchdown runs of over 50 yards, TreVeyon Henderson. He also brought in better players at every level of his defense to complete Phase One of the makeover. It was a masterful offseason.
Drake Maye has been everything Mike Vrabel saw and more
Mike Vrabel is as astute an NFL personnel evaluator as there is. He saw through the inadequacies of the Patriots' 2024 offense and saw that Maye still performed brilliantly at a Pro Bowl level, notwithstanding. He knew that the young man could rocket both himself and the team to the top of the NFL with the right supporting cast, and he was right.
Now, owner Robert Kraft has highlighted a tremendous character aspect of the young superstar that speaks volumes.
During an appearance on David Andrews and Brian Hoyer's podcast "The Quick Snap" this week, the Patriots owner cited what he sees as his All-Pro quarterback's greatest quality, and it's something that can take the team far.
“'The greatest quality of him, in at least my feelings, is his humility,' the Patriots owner told David Andrews and Brian Hoyer on the 'Quick Snap' podcast. 'And I think that comes from his parents and the family he’s got.
Three older brothers are good, so usually the baby in the family’s a little spoiled, but he has a humility that’s genuine. And so it’s like putting family first. It’s putting the team first.'”
Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel are headed for the top of the NFL
The self-effacing, humble, and unflappable Maye is a perfect complement to the lively, outgoing, and supercharged Head Coach Mike Vrabel. It's a duo that has the potential to establish a second Patriots' dynasty and may be on its way to doing just that.
The humble Maye and the dynamic Vrabel are perfectly matched, and the best part is that the partnership is only in its infancy. Vrabel has had only one free agency period and one draft to remold a roster that had fallen into disrepair due to poor free agency signings and even worse drafting. And the All-Pro Maye has still only started 30 games in his fledgling career.
Greater maturity of the young quarterback, already a top five in the NFL, and adding even better players to his supporting cast (e.g., a top offensive line) and sackmen to the defense, and the Patriots will be poised to win multiple Lombardi Trophies. They may even rival the first Patriots' dynasty under Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.
And while there will never be another Brady, Vrabel is a far better general manager than Belichick was, and that may make all the difference.