How Drake Maye's Stats Compare To Qbs Who Won Nfl Mvp In Year 2

How Drake Maye's stats compare to QBs who won NFL MVP in Year 2 originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The New England Patriots have exceeded even the most optimistic expectations fans had for them before the 2025 NFL season, and the primary reason for that success has been the excellent play of starting quarterback Drake Maye.

The Patriots own the league’s best record at 11-2 following an emphatic 33-15 win over the New York Giants in a Week 13 “Monday Night Football” matchup. Maye was very efficient in the victory. He completed 24 of 31 pass attempts for 282 yards with two touchdowns and zero turnovers. He earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors as a result.

“I think he’s realizing what he can be and what the impact that he makes on this offense and being the conductor,” Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said of Maye after the win. “He’s hard on himself. I think that he challenges himself as well as his coaches. He means a great deal to this football team. … So, again, very appreciative that he’s our quarterback.”

Both of Maye’s touchdown passes were perfect throws, including this dime to rookie wideout Kyle Williams in the second quarter.

Maye was expected to make a Year 2 leap in his development, especially with Josh McDaniels being hired as the new offensive coordinator during the offseason. But few people could have expected that Maye would not only make a huge jump, he’d also play at the level of a top-five quarterback.

Maye enters his team’s Week 14 bye ranked No. 1 in passing yards, No. 1 in completion percentage, No. 1 in QB rating, No. 2 in yards per attempt and No. 2 in touchdowns.

Overall, he has a 71.5 completion percentage with 3,412 yards, 23 touchdowns, six interceptions and a 111.9 rating. And even though his supporting cast is better than last season, it’s not like he’s throwing to an elite wide receiver or tight end on a weekly basis.

Maye’s performance has vaulted him into the thick of the league MVP conversation. In fact, he is the favorite to win the award at a bunch of sportsbooks. As of this writing, Maye is a -135 favorite to win MVP at DraftKings. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has +125 odds at DraftKings, and every other player has +1400 odds or worse. Some sportsbooks had Maye at 50-1 odds to win MVP before the season started.

There’s still about a quarter of the season remaining, and a lot can happen between now and Week 18. Maye is far from guaranteed to win, but he does have a real chance to become the first Patriots player voted MVP since Tom Brady in 2017.

Maye winning the MVP in just his second season would be a remarkable accomplishment. It wouldn’t be unprecedented, though. In fact, it’s actually happened twice in the last 10 years.

Here’s the full list of players who won NFL MVP in their second pro season. You’ll notice that each player is a Hall of Famer or almost certainly will be after retirement.

• Jim Brown, RB, Browns in 1958
• Earl Campbell, RB, Oilers in 1979
• Dan Marino, QB, Dolphins in 1984
• Kurt Warner, QB, Rams in 1999
• Patrick Mahomes, QB, Chiefs in 2018
• Lamar Jackson, QB, Ravens in 2019

Here’s how Maye’s stats compare to the four quarterbacks who have won league MVP in Year 2. Keep in mind that Maye still has four more games to play, so his end-of-season stats will be better.

How did these four MVP winners in Year 2 fare in the playoffs that same season? They actually did pretty well.

Dan Marino led the Dolphins to Super Bowl XIX but lost 38-16 to Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers. Kurt Warner led the Rams, aka “The Greatest Show on Turf”, to a Super Bowl XXXIV win over the Tennessee Titans. Patrick Mahomes guided the Chiefs to the AFC Championship Game, where he almost beat Tom Brady and the Patriots but lost in overtime. Jackson and the Ravens lost at home in the AFC Divisional Round to the Titans as the AFC’s No. 1 seed.

Coming into the 2025 season, many Patriots fans felt good about Maye becoming a real franchise quarterback. Fast forward 13 weeks and there’s no doubt remaining. The Patriots have finally found their guy at the sport’s most important position.

After a rough Week 1 performance in a loss to the Raiders, Maye has played better than every one of his peers this season. He’s always had the physical tools (rocket arm, athleticism, etc.) to be a great quarterback, but this year has seen the mental aspect of his game reach another level.

Winning MVP in Year 2 would further prove that Maye is going to have a special career. You can’t luck your way into this award. If Maye wins it, he’ll have earned it.