Josh Allen is getting the early MVP spotlight for 2026, but the bigger takeaway from NFL.com’s latest expert picks is who got left out: Drake Maye.
That omission lands even harder when you look back at what Maye just did in 2025. In his second season and first under Mike Vrabel and Josh McDaniels, he threw for more than 4,300 yards, led the league in completion percentage at 72.5 percent and passer rating at 113.5, and missed out on the MVP by just one first-place vote.
For Patriots fans, none of that is news. For the rest of the league, apparently, it needed repeating.
Allen absolutely belongs in the conversation. He’s a top-five quarterback, and nobody would blink at him drawing MVP support.
But the full list of votes makes the snub look even stranger, with Dak Prescott, Brock Purdy and Justin Herbert getting nods ahead of Maye. That’s what turns this from a simple prediction into something that feels pointed.
There’s also a message buried in those choices about how voters see the teams around them. Allen only has a real shot at MVP if Buffalo wins the AFC East, which says plenty about where the Patriots are being placed in the league’s pecking order.
And yet New England just came off a run that should have forced a little more respect. The reigning conference champion has somehow become one of the league’s most overlooked teams, and that kind of treatment is exactly the sort of thing Vrabel can hang on the wall in the locker room.
Maye, though, doesn’t sound like a player who will get distracted by the noise. He’s described as a composed young man who keeps the main thing the main thing, and he’s not likely to let outside chatter pull him away from the bigger goal.
Still, elite players don’t just ignore slights - they use them. Being passed over can light a fire, and if there’s any fuel left after a season like that, Maye and the Patriots should be angry about the way they’re being talked about.
Winning 17 of 20 games, reaching the Super Bowl and coming that close to MVP apparently still wasn’t enough to earn full credit. So the message out of Foxborough is pretty clear: keep going, keep pushing, and keep raising the bar.
In Other News...
Drake Maye Just Gave Patriots Fans A Very New England Look
Drake Maye is already finding ways to fit neatly into the New England sports landscape beyond the field, and his latest move comes with a distinctly regional feel. L.L.Bean has announced a new multi-year partnership with the Patriots quarterback and his wife, Ann Michael Maye, with the couple fronting a newly released ad for the outdoor retailer that leans into a humorous workplace setting while showing off the brands clothing.
The deal is the kind of crossover that tends to resonate in this part of the country, where football, family and outdoor gear all live comfortably in the same orbit. L.L.Bean president and CEO Greg Elder pointed to the Mayes New England ties and shared values in discussing the partnership, a nice reminder that in this market, image matters almost as much as arm strength. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Rookie Earned A Roster Spot In A Way Nobody Expected
Quintayvious Hutchins found out he had made the Patriots 53-man roster in a way few players would ever expect, learning the news from a social media post instead of a call from the team. For a rookie outside linebacker trying to carve out a place in New England, it was a fittingly unusual end to a strong training camp and preseason, one that put him in position to stick when the NFL roster cutdown deadline arrived.
Hutchins retention also says plenty about how the Patriots viewed the competition at outside linebacker, where four players ended up making the roster. For an undrafted rookie to break through in that mix is a credit to the kind of summer he put together, even if the first confirmation of his status came in a roundabout way. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Are Counting On An Unproven Linebacker In A Thin Spot
The Patriots added another layer to a linebacker room that has been stretched thin, signing Erick Hunter to the 53-man roster after his time with the Detroit Lions. Hunter arrives as an undrafted player with a strong college rsum at Morgan State and enough preseason showing to convince New England he was worth a closer look at a position where depth matters and every backup role can quickly become important.
For the Patriots, the move is as much about coverage as it is about upside. Hunter gives them an extra body in a spot they need to reinforce, and he also brings a path to contributing on special teams, which is often how unproven defenders carve out a place on the roster. The question now is whether his preseason momentum can carry into a bigger opportunity when the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]