Drake Maye's MVP-caliber season fuels the New England Patriots' Super Bowl run, but Year 3 demands even greater leadership and self-correction from their star QB.
The No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft looked more like a No. 1 pick during the 2025 regular season.
Former North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye finished second in the NFL MVP vote after showing incredible progress in his second season in the league.
Maye threw for 4,394 yards, 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions last season. He added 450 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
Maye's heroics helped lead the New England Patriots to the Super Bowl.
During his news conference on Wednesday at the scouting combine, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said he's pushing for Maye to show even more growth in Year 3.
“Just continue that development, taking an active role instead of me or Josh making corrections,” Vrabel said, via MassLive. “I think that’s something Drake wants to be able to do, is correct himself, but also the players that are out there with him.
"It’s something that I think is — and that goes throughout the team, is to try to hold each other accountable. That’s always when you kind of know that what you have is a good football team or one that has potential, is when they’re close enough and knowledgeable enough to hold each other accountable.”
The Patriots offense needed that accountability late in the postseason. New England's offense scored just 10 points in their win over the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game.
Maye was under constant duress in the Patriots' 29-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl.
On Tuesday, Patriots executive Eliot Wolf offered praise for the former Tar Heels quarterback.
“I mean, satisfied is a tremendous understatement," he said. "Drake made a ton of progress in a lot of areas, not only at the start of the season, but throughout the season.
"I think people forget that he’s 23 years old, there’s been a lot on his shoulders, and there will continue to be with the expectation that it has being a quarterback for the New England Patriots.”
Year 3 will certainly come with higher expectations for Maye. It will also come with a harder schedule.
Following the humbling loss in the Super Bowl, Maye has an entire offseason to work on getting better as a leader and passer.