New England Patriots star Drake Maye was placed in the "franchise carrier" QB tier.
FOX Sports placed New England Patriots star Drake Maye in the "franchise carrier" QB tier.
Maye is with Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers, Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams, Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys and Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals.
"These quarterbacks are good enough to match the elite guys throw-for-throw, but there’s at least one weakness in their game that keeps them out of the top tier," FOX Sports wrote. "While it’s not a guarantee that their teams will contend for a title, they will be in the playoff hunt as long as they’re on the field."
Stafford won the MVP award last season over Maye, who led the Patriots to the Super Bowl in just his second NFL season. The UNC product finished the 2025 regular season with 4,394 passing yards and 31 passing touchdowns while completing 72.0% of his passes.
New England beat the Chargers, Houston Texans and Denver Broncos in the 2025 playoffs to reach the Super Bowl. Maye suffered a shoulder injury in the AFC Championship Game against the Broncos and that played a large role in why he struggled to throw the ball in the Super Bowl.
The Patriots open the 2026 season with a Super Bowl rematch against the Seahawks in Seattle. That's the perfect game for Maye and Co. to get revenge.
"I think that's the biggest thing about it: It's humbling. You've got to get back to work. When you're so close and within reach, you want that feeling," Maye said. "Everybody says, 'You'll be back.' It's not that easy. So, we've got to get back to work, and I'm looking forward to trying to prove to myself that we can get back and just have another year to get a chance at it."
Maye enters this season with 6,670 passing yards and 46 passing touchdowns. The Patriots acquired A.J. Brown from the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason, giving Maye a true No. 1 WR.
Since entering the NFL, Brown is fourth in the league in both receiving yards (8,029) and touchdown catches (56). Brown and Bengals superstar Ja'Marr Chase are the NFL's only two players with at least 1,000 receiving yards and seven-plus touchdown catches in each of the past four seasons.
It will be intriguing to see if the Patriots can get back to the Super Bowl this season and win the big game this time around. Maye is just 23 years old, so he's only going to get better moving forward.
New England is expected to sign Maye to a massive extension after this season.
