When the New England Patriots drove down the field in the third quarter of their 32-13 win at home against the Cleveland Browns, sections of Gillette Stadium all echoed in a similar tune.

“M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!”

The chants for Drake Maye aren’t far fetched. The young quarterback is playing out of his mind to start the 2025 campaign, leading his Patriots to an AFC East-best 6-2 and currently having the third-best odds on Draft Kings to win the league’s Most Valuable Player award come February.

While the New England faithful might be willing to bend their imagination for a franchise quarterback, Maye’s teammates are also feeling the MVP vibes oozing out of their first-time captain. Wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, who’s connected with Maye for a team-high five touchdowns this year, made sure to highlight those chants postgame.

“We’ve been on the road the past month, so I think it feels good to be back at home,” Boutte said in front of his locker after the win. “Scoring a touchdown, throwing the ball, then the MVP chants. I was joking with (Maye) last week about MVP too, he doesn’t like to hear it, but I think it’s the truth. We got to keep it going, we’re halfway through the season and we’re just, honestly, getting started.”

Will Drake Maye Win The MVP Award?

Boutte himself has had one heck of a year under new head coach Mike Vrabel. The former LSU star has found a niche as the Patriots’ best deep ball receiver, and he’s starting to rack up big play after big play. For the sometimes reserved Boutte, he gives a lot of the credit to the guy throwing the ball.

“You all see what I see,” Boutte said. “I think if you look around the league at the other guys too, they’re doing great stuff too. I think Drake’s doing everything they’re doing, there’s not anything that he’s not doing. At the end of the day, we’re just playing football, we’re having fun with it too, just supporting my guys.”

As part of those guys, the other wide receivers have begun to come out of their shells and form a real cohesive group in New England. Stefon Diggs finally found the end zone for the first time this season, while depth pieces like Mack Hollins and DeMario Douglas have rotated in as some key contributors inside and outside of the numbers.

For a younger guy who’s out-pacing Diggs in the touchdown department, Boutte was happy to see the veteran score against Cleveland.

“I think I was happier than him,” Boutte said. “If you look back at the film, I ran from the right side to the left. Two plays before, we were at the goal line, and he was one yard away. I think it happened like that at Buffalo too, just a couple yards away. Great player, great guy. I love him, I think it was good for everybody. Now that he’s got that feeling in the end zone, he’s just getting started.”

As for Boutte’s MVP signal caller, he says the team will only go as far as Maye will take them.

“The team is only going to be as good as the receivers and the quarterback are,” he said. “We’re not going to sit here and run the ball 50 times a game, you have to balance the offense up. I think what’s important is just being there when they need me.”