Tom Brady revealed this week his current dog was a clone of his beloved former dog after it passed away in 2023. The New England Patriots have been working on cloning a goat, the goat.
Sure, Drake Maye is no goat, nor a dog. A dawg, perhaps. And while he is no clone of the seven-time Super Bowl champion governing the 'greatest of all time' debate, he may well be the desperately-yearned long-term answer to a quarterback void that could never be filled, not really, not properly.
But behind Maye, the Patriots are relevant again, dangerous again, and contenders again. New England sit tied at the top of the NFL with a 7-2 record, head coach Mike Vrabel fulfilling expectations as the perfect man to kickstart the post-Bill Belichick era after a flawed Jerod Mayo stint, and Maye an MVP challenger for a franchise that limped through purgatory with Cam Newton, Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe.
Maye is no mere bridge. He has offered a solution just five years removed from Brady's exit. Five years will have been gruelling for Patriots fans accustomed to supremacy, but ask any team around the league and five years no doubt feels kind.
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Patriots Bills hls
Maye starred in Week Five as the Patriots stunned the Bills to take control of the AFC East
Maye attended Bryant University as a Fall Speaker this week, emerging to a standing ovation and an eruption of 'MVP, MVP!' chants to his endearing surprise. It was quintessential face of a franchise stuff, a young buck growing into his self-established role as a driving force for the resurrection of a franchise that fell from its perch after dictating football for a large part of 20 years.
The No 3 pick of the 2024 NFL Draft is riding a sophomore spike as he shakes up a Buffalo Bills-dominated AFC East and a wide-open AFC race to the postseason. No quarterback in the league has looked as destructive or as efficient attacking downfield than Maye in an era designed to eradicate as much; he is a different mould to Brady, a mover and a shaker who can both manipulate a pocket but freelance and launch off-script adventures.
It always loomed as a fascinating career comparison as he entered the NFL at the same time as No 1 pick Caleb Williams, who has been significantly-better with the Chicago Bears this season, Jayden Daniels, injury-stricken in a fizzling campaign for the Washington Commanders and the trio of Michael Penix Jr, J.J. McCarthy and Bo Nix.
Right now, Maye is comfortably on top in 2025 and inciting new-found adoration, infatuation in Foxboro, where they think they have their man.
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Maye's wife Ann Michael Maye posted a TikTok video this week, walking through her recipe to making apple cinnamon oat crumble bars. The comments focused less on her, no doubt delicious, oat bars, but instead the defense-shredding exploits of her partner.
"The way Drake Maye is gunna eat those oat bars is gunna be so tuff"
"Oh yea our husband is gonna love these"
"Oh man I'm so excited for Drake Maye to have these"
"'Taking care of our king"
"Make sure Drake doesn't eat too much and get a tummy ache"
"You read recipes the way Drake reads defenses. Perfect couple"
Another TikTok user had posted seeking inspiration for her Halloween outfit, explaining she would dress up as the first suggestion in her comments. The first answer?
"DRAKE MAYE."
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Maye just battled through one of the toughest tests of his season so far against the Atlanta Falcons and Jeff Ulbrich's No 1-ranked pass defense, which sacked the Patriots quarterback six times, the second week in a row New England have given up six sacks. Not all were Maye's fault, but it was, by his standards of late, a rare sample of twitchy, nervy moments of hesitation typically customary for a young play-caller.
"It's tough in a game where you win and you can feel in that locker room that these guys know we can play better," said Maye. "I think it's a good feeling to have, but also at the same time it's tough to win in this league, so you've got to enjoy it."
He was also guilty of scrambling and spiralling his way into pressure, sacks and extended plays for no reason, creating unnecessary negative plays and exposing himself to unnecessary contact. Arguably the biggest concern was putting himself in danger. In the face of the previous eight weeks, it was an anomaly. And Maye, who leads the NFL in scrambling, was the first to identify his lapse and the need to protect himself better. Nobody was better at protecting themselves than Brady.
In Vrabel is the ideal voice, teacher and mature head to guide him through the kinks of a quarterback still learning.
"He's hard on me, but he's very positive, and I think he wants the best out of me," Maye said. "Everything that he says to me, I think it's going to be important and become true."
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The Patriots have given up a second-most 34 sacks on the year, while their run offense ranks second-worst in rush EPA and fourth-worst in success rate, as much serving as a nod to Maye's success in difficult positions.
He finished the game 19 of 29 for 259 yards with a completion percentage of 65.5, his lowest since Week One, for two touchdowns, an interception and a sloppy lost fumble, Vrabel's side grateful for John Parker Romo's late missed extra point in their 24-23 win that would mark their sixth in a row.
In doing so he surpassed Patrick Mahomes for the longest streak of games with 200-plus passing yards and a 100-plus passer rating by a quarterback under the age of 24 with eight. Maye meanwhile ranks first in completion percentage through nine weeks, fifth in passing yards, tired-third in passing touchdowns with just four interceptions and a second-ranked passer rating of 116.9 behind only the recently-injured Lamar Jackson.
The advanced metrics also point to one of the league's best quarterbacks, the former North Carolina man ranking fourth in EPA/play (expected points added), fifth in success rate, first in CPOE (completion percentage over expected) and total quarterback rating.
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Chelsea goalkeepers take on NFL challenge
Chelsea goalkeepers Robert Sanchez and Gabriel Slonina join Phoebe Schecter to take on an NFL challenge
On the other end of his upper echelon production is a receiving core some way off the best units in the league, which may seem unjust given how efficient and how reliable it has been. Josh McDaniels and Maye are squeezing out every ounce of needle-moving No 1-receiver threat left in Stefon Diggs, who, cast aside by the Bills, tops the Patriots with 45 catches for 508 yards and two touchdowns; behind him lies a committee of Kayshon Boutte (431 yards and five TDs), tight end Hunter Henry (368 yards and four TDs), DeMario Douglas (262 yards and three TDs) and Mack Hollins (217 yards and two TDs).
"His just willingness to get better every week," said Hollins of what impresses him most about Maye on Good Morning Football. "He's critical of himself. He's never like, 'Oh I had a good game last week it'll carry over.' He just continues to want to get better."
Maye has ignited an offense that currently ranks third in dropback EPA after ranking third in the same department in 2024, and a passing attack ranking ninth in yards following on from dead last in 2024. The transformation has been stark, and New England's second-year quarterback has catapulted his team ahead of schedule.
He has been the NFL's best deep-ball quarterback, he is crushing tight window throws, he is physically imposing himself on defenses with his threat on the ground and ability to create out-of-structure and he is compensating for a stuttering rushing attack by inspiring an eighth-ranked third-down completion percentage by any team in the league.
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield threads a needle on a 20-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Emeka Egbuka
Maye's Patriots face the Bucs this weekend - watch Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield silence the Seattle crowd with a needle-threading 20-yard touchdown pass to Emeka Egbuka
The brain-jam moments, overcomplications and misjudgements are still there at times, but he has swatted at the one-dimensional tags that lingered coming out of college and the doubts to orchestrate a sophisticated offense. Maye has beaten the Super Bowl-challenging Bills, led by reigning MVP Josh Allen, while overcoming two of the league's best defenses in Cleveland and Atlanta, lifting New England to first place in the AFC standings for the first time since 2021.
A battle of two MVP frontrunners comes next on Sunday when the Patriots take on Baker Mayfield's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are blitzing quarterbacks at the fifth-highest rate in football ahead of a meeting with a Patriots offensive line among the worst at allowing quick pressures. Maye has been largely impressive and efficient against pressure, but knows there is vast room for improvement in his ability to avoid it and sacks.
He is a different makeup to Brady in his willingness to work away from the pocket, though McDaniels is no doubt working to install certain Brady-isms in a bid to clean up his game.
Beyond the numbers and the picture-perfect deep shots is the confidence and self-assurance of a franchise quarterback who plans on sticking around. There is a new face in the AFC arm's race, and suddenly, a kicked-to-the-curb once-perennial-challenger smells new life.
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