Patriots' Drake Maye leads the way in 2024 quarterback class with Super Bowl appearance in Year 2
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is living the life Bears quarterback Caleb Williams imagined. Well before the Bears drafted Williams first overall in 2024, with Maye going two picks later, he talked openly about taking the NFL by storm and eventually winning more Super Bowls than Tom Brady.
But it’s Maye who’s the first to reach the league’s highest level by leading his team to a Super Bowl. The Patriots, who were worse than the Bears last season at 4-13, and Maye, who was behind Williams as a rookie, will face the Seahawks for the championship Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.
Williams still has a chance to catch up — and there certainly were signs this season that he might. But winning trumps all. Maye has made it deeper into the playoffs than the other five quarterbacks taken in the first round that year.
“Being able to experience what everybody in this league works for, at such a young age, is a blessing,” Maye, 23, said Monday. “There are guys on this team that have played 10 to 14 years and never made it, and [I know] how much of an opportunity we have this week. Getting a chance to go win the Super Bowl? That sounds pretty good.”
Maye was the center of attention during the Patriots’ hour of the annual media night to kick off Super Bowl week. The massive crowd around his podium asked football questions but also asked him to rank his wife’s baked goods and give a shout-out to actor Matt Damon, a Patriots superfan.
That’s what it’s like at the top. Maye can tell the other quarterbacks from his class stories about it the next time he sees them.
Williams, who’s friends with Maye, described the six first-round QBs — all of whom went in the top 12 — as “a pretty badass class” who will compete against each other for years to come. The Commanders’ Jayden Daniels, the No. 2 pick, took an early lead last season by winning Offensive Rookie of the Year and reaching the NFC Championship Game. The Broncos’ Bo Nix (12th) has reached the playoffs twice. Williams got the Bears their first postseason victory in 15 years and appears to be well on his way.
The Falcons’ Michael Penix (eighth) and the Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy (10th) still have a ton to prove going into next season.
Maye, meanwhile, leads the pack after helping the Patriots improve from 4-13 in both 2023 and 2024 to 14-3 and a Super Bowl trip. No one would say he’s merely was along for the ride after a phenomenal second season in which he led the NFL with a 113.5 passer rating. He threw 31 touchdown passes and eight interceptions and averaged 258.5 yards per game. When the NFL MVP trophy is awarded Thursday, he’s likely to finish as runner-up to the Rams’ Matthew Stafford.
Williams said during the season he enjoyed watching Maye play and was happy for his success, but he doesn’t compare himself to the other quarterbacks in his class.
Much like Williams, Maye has made major strides since his rookie season. The two quarterbacks played an ugly game at Soldier Field, a 19-3 win by the Patriots, in which neither of them reached 200 yards or an 80 passer rating.
Both were hindered by dysfunction that year. While the Bears corrected that by hiring coach Ben Johnson, the Patriots did the same by bringing in coach Mike Vrabel and several veteran assistants, including offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and passing-game coordinator Thomas Brown, who was the Bears’ interim coach at the end of last season.
Asked about Maye making the Super Bowl in his second season, Brown, speaking with the Sun-Times, called it “proof about being able to trust the process and evolve and trust his natural ability and trust the coaching regime.”
“And it’ll bode well for him for the future,” Brown added.
Every NFL team tries to make the most of a quarterback’s rookie contract. Maye has enabled the Patriots to do that. He was close to Stafford’s level this season at a fraction of the cost. While Stafford carried a $47.5 million salary-cap hit, the Patriots were able to spend big in free agency because Maye’s hit was just $8.3 million. It was similar for the Bears, with Williams’ hit at just $9 million this season.
Several teams have capitalized on that opportunity the last few seasons, dating back to the Chiefs’ Super Bowl win in Patrick Mahomes’ third season. The Bengals’ Joe Burrow and the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts reached the Super Bowl during their rookie deals — deep runs that also were hugely beneficial to the quarterbacks themselves. The more they experience early in their careers, the better.
“Just going through the whole process [where] you come a week early and it’s a big, drawn-out affair, the experience of going through the motions and knowing what to expect [during] Super Bowl week is invaluable,” said Bears left guard Joe Thuney, who won two Super Bowls apiece with the Patriots and Chiefs. “You kind of learn what it’s about.”
On Sunday, Maye also will get a sense of the enormous stakes of the game and the pressure of every play. Once he gets that experience, win or lose, no game will be daunting to him again. That alone makes this a massive step in his career and puts him further along than his peers.