Drake Maye’s rise has gone from promising to impossible to ignore, and NFL.com’s latest player rankings only sharpen that picture.
Grant Gordon slotted the New England Patriots quarterback at No. 6 on his list of the top 12 NFL players entering 2026, a strong marker for a player who wasn’t ranked at all before 2025. For a third-year quarterback, that kind of leap says plenty about how the league now views him.
Maye’s 2025 season gave the Patriots exactly what they needed. New England surged to a 14-3 record and reached the Super Bowl, with Maye at the center of everything. The year ended without the finish Patriots Nation wanted, but the run itself was enough to establish that the franchise’s new cornerstone is already one of the NFL’s most important players.
Gordon’s ranking came with a glowing note on just how productive Maye was: "'[Maye] was youngest player in NFL history to lead league in completion percentage (72.0, team record); Pro Bowler also led league in passer rating (113.5) and passing yards per attempt (8.9), ultimately guiding Patriots to Super Bowl LX. At 23, became youngest QB to record 4,000-plus passing yards, 30-plus passing touchdowns and fewer than 10 interceptions."
That production helped push Maye into Pro Bowl and All-Pro territory, and it came in just his second season. He also did something Josh Allen's Bills have never done - play in a Super Bowl.
His stretch run wasn’t clean, though, because an injured shoulder limited him down the stretch. If that issue is behind him in 2026, the ceiling gets even higher.
The Patriots have clearly acted like they know it. They added A.J.
Brown as a true No. 1 receiver and Romeo Doubs as a No. 2 option, upgrades that should change the shape of the offense. If the offensive line improves the way the team expects, New England could have one of the league’s most explosive attacks.
There’s more help than just the passing game, too. Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson give the Patriots one of the NFL’s most highly-rated running back duos, and Hunter Henry brings veteran stability at tight end. That mix leaves defenses with very little room to breathe.
Quarterbacks drive everything in this league, and the Patriots found theirs with the third overall pick in the 2024 draft. With the right pieces now being built around him, Maye has a chance to keep climbing. If New England’s offseason upgrades hold up, even a tougher division-winner’s schedule may not be enough to slow him down.
In Other News...
Patriots Just Added A Familiar Defensive Lineman For A Reason
The Patriots have added another body to the interior defensive line, signing defensive tackle Casey Rogers after a successful workout and using the roster opening created when linebacker Otis Reese was released. Rogers is entering his third NFL season and is expected to provide rotational depth inside, a practical move for a team still sorting out its mix up front.
Rogers also brings a layer of familiarity with the coaching staff, which likely helped make the transition easier once the workout went well. The signing does not affect New Englands salary cap, and it gives the Patriots another experienced option while they continue to manage the edges of the roster with the season moving along. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Camp Is Putting One Thin Position Group Under The Microscope
Day 8 of Patriots training camp brought the usual blend of practice updates, injury watch and roster sorting, but it also kept attention on a position group that suddenly looks a lot thinner than usual. New England added defensive tackle Casey Rogers from the UFL, another move that reinforces how much the team is still trying to stabilize the interior of its defensive line as camp moves deeper into the summer.
The rest of the days reporting centered on who was on the field, who was not and how the coaching staff is shaping early roster projections. There were the standard rounds of media availability from players and coaches, along with notes on participation and recovery, but the bigger picture is hard to miss: the Patriots are still evaluating bodies and roles up front, and every camp rep matters when a position group is being watched this closely. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Camp Is Putting Unexpected Pressure On Two Position Battles
Early in Patriots training camp, the most interesting roster fights are not always the ones involving the biggest names. Tight end and cornerback have both turned into spots to watch, with rookies Eli Raridon and Tanner Arkin getting a real look as the team sorts through depth and roles behind the established pieces. Head coach Mike Vrabel and quarterback Drake Maye have both offered encouraging views of the progress being made, which matters this time of year because summer practices often reveal who can handle more than just a handful of snaps.
Raridon and Arkin have each found ways to stay in the mix through the first weeks, and their work has added a little extra pressure to a competition that was already more open than it first appeared. Karon Prunty has also been part of that quieter roster battle, giving the Patriots more to evaluate as camp moves along and the cuts get closer. Nothing is settled yet, but the way these lesser-known players have kept showing up in key spots suggests the final decisions may be harder than expected. [Read more 🡒]