Drake Maye is playing like a man on a mission - and the league is starting to take notice. After guiding the Patriots to their 10th straight win on Monday night, the second-year quarterback has surged to the front of the 2025 NFL MVP conversation. But not everyone in New England is rooting for him to take home the hardware.
Former Patriots center David Andrews, a locker room anchor during his nine-year run with the team, thinks Maye deserves the MVP - he just doesn’t want him to win it.
“Is he the MVP? Yes,” Andrews said during an appearance on CLNS Media.
“Do I want him to win it? No.”
That might sound like a contradiction, but there’s a method to Andrews’ madness. He’s not questioning Maye’s performance - far from it.
In fact, he’s seen this movie before. Back in 2017, Tom Brady put together an MVP season of his own.
The Patriots made it to the Super Bowl, but that year ended in heartbreak, not hardware.
“I’ve been a part of one MVP season,” Andrews said. “It was the one season we didn’t win the Super Bowl.”
That memory still lingers. And for Andrews, it’s not about individual accolades - it’s about rings.
He knows how powerful a perceived slight can be in fueling a team, especially under the bright lights of the Super Bowl. If Maye gets snubbed for MVP, Andrews believes head coach Mike Vrabel could use that as the kind of bulletin-board material that championship teams thrive on.
“Imagine this team,” Andrews said. “They do the unthinkable - I don’t think it’s that unthinkable - but they go to the Super Bowl.
They’re sitting in a hotel room Friday night, Thursday night. They wake up having breakfast that morning.
Can you imagine if this kid doesn’t win the MVP?”
That’s the kind of edge Andrews is talking about. A team already firing on all cylinders, led by a young quarterback with something to prove? Add in a little extra motivation - a chip on the shoulder - and it’s the kind of emotional fuel that can carry a team over the finish line.
Maye’s rise has been nothing short of remarkable this season. He’s commanding the offense with poise, making smart decisions, and showing the kind of leadership that’s rare for a second-year player. The Patriots have rallied around him, and the results speak for themselves - 10 straight wins, and a team that looks like a legitimate contender in the AFC.
But as Andrews points out, individual awards don’t always align with team success. And in New England, the standard has always been about one thing: winning when it matters most. If that means sacrificing an MVP trophy for a Lombardi, well, that’s a trade most Patriots fans - and former players - would take every time.
So while Maye may be the frontrunner for MVP right now, there’s a growing sentiment in Foxborough that the real prize is still out there. And if a snub helps fuel the fire? Even better.