New England Patriots - NESN.com
Drake Maye appears to be gaining considerable popularity this year.
Courtesy of NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Maye leads all players in the preliminary Pro Bowl Games voting as of Monday morning. The fan votes, which opened on Thursday, will run through Monday, Dec. 15.
Maye was hardly spectacular as a rookie, but he backed his way into an unlikely Pro Bowl invite as one of two replacement picks. Several other alternates turned down a spot that eventually went to Maye, who posted an 88.1 quarterback rating in 13 games.
The 23-year-old is earning his place on the AFC roster this season, leading the New England Patriots to a 10-2 start with a 110.7 passer rating. Maye enters Monday night’s game against the New York Giants boasting an NFL-leading 71.0 completion percentage, and he only needs 132 passing yards to jump back atop that leaderboard.
Maye garnered 31,452 votes through four days, putting the former No. 3 pick ahead of Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Green Bay Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons (25,155). His primary MVP competitor, Matthew Stafford, has received the second-most Pro Bowl votes (24,335) among quarterbacks as of 11 a.m. ET.
Josh Allen (23,238) is the only other AFC signal-caller inside the top 10. The field isn’t as stacked as usual, as Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow have missed time while Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs haven’t played to their lofty standards.
Maye is thus well positioned to earn his second Pro Bowl nod in as many years. However, he’d hope to abdicate his spot to prepare the Patriots for the Super Bowl instead.
