New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye must fix this flaw in order to excel this season.
Jul 23, 2025; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) warms up before drills at training camp at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images / Eric Canha-Imagn Images
The New England Patriots’ 2025 NFL season largely hinges on Drake Maye’s improvement, as the young quarterback put forth an impressive showing during his rookie campaign last year.
Maye threw for 2,276 yards, 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 2024, completing 66.6 percent of his passes while registering an 88.1 passer rating. In addition, he rushed for 421 yards and eight scores on the ground, averaging 7.8 yards per carry.
The former No. 3 overall pick did all of that in spite of having a rather horrendous supporting cast around him, but the Patriots have made sure that they bolstered his surrounding talent this offseason.
As a result, Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski has dubbed Maye the sophomore quarterback who will improve the most this coming season.
However, Maye also received a bit of a warning from Sobleski.
“With these improved areas, Maye will be asked to drive the ball down the field and take advantage of his big arm more than a year ago after he ranked 33rd in throws 20-plus yards downfield, according to Pro Football Focus,” Sobleski wrote. “As long as Maye doesn’t revert to Captain Checkdown, while also looking to pass a little longer when he breaks the pocket, he has the potential to enter elite status during the upcoming season.”
To be fair, Maye didn’t have much of a choice but to revert to checkdown throws much of last year due to his shoddy receiving corps. But this time around, the 22-year-old will have much less of an excuse.
New England signed Stefon Diggs and Mack Hollins in free agency while also selecting fellow wide receiver Kyle Williams in the NFL Draft. Plus, the Pats added impressive undrafted rookie Efton Chism III. On top of that, the Patriots have significantly augmented their offensive line.
We’ll see if Maye can limit his mistakes and make some big-time throws this fall.
