New England Patriots - NESN.com
The MVP chatter surrounding Drake Maye continues to intensify near the 2025 season’s midway mark.
Maye’s case no longer seems far-fetched, as he continues to flourish with the New England Patriots. The 23-year-old quarterback enters Week 9 with a 75.2 percent completion rate, 9.0 yards per pass attempt and a pristine 118.7 quarterback rating.
ESPN’s Ben Solak made Maye’s MVP case earlier this week, and a colleague joined the bandwagon on Thursday. Dan Orlovsky named Maye his MVP during a “Get Up” segment discussing whether Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor should be a front-runner for the award.
“Jonathan’s having an outstanding season,” Orlovsky said. “There’s nothing I can say in a negative fashion about him. The MVP of the NFL right now is Drake Maye.”
Orlovsky argued that Maye doesn’t have the same supporting cast as other star quarterbacks. The former backup quarterback noted that Stefon Diggs is coming off an ACL tear, Kayson Boutte was a sixth-round draft pick, and veteran tight ends Hunter Henry and Austin Henry are no longer in their primes.
“Drake Maye is playing quarterback just about as good as anybody with the least amount of help around him when it comes to just talent,” Orlovsky claimed. “That’s not a knock on those guys. Just keeping it real.”
Orlovsky likes what he’s seen from the second-year star. Last week, he compared Maye to Ben Roethlisberger.
“Some of those wow throws, Ben would make throws like that where you’re just like, ‘Good God. How did you make that one into that window or place it there?'” Orlovsky said.
No longer an MVP long shot, Maye has the third-shortest odds to win (+550) on FanDuel Sportsbook behind Patrick Mahomes (+150) and Josh Allen (+450). He can bolster his case when the Patriots play the Atlanta Falcons this Sunday.
