In his first year working alongside Josh McDaniels, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has elevated his game from promising to MVP-caliber.
Robert Kraft believes that’s not a coincidence.
In an interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub ahead of Thursday night’s Pats-Jets game, the Patriots owner said McDaniels — now in his third stint as New England’s offensive coordinator — has played a pivotal role in Maye’s rise.
“I have to give a lot of credit to Josh McDaniels,” Kraft said. “Josh has learning curve experience in this area, having worked with (Tom Brady) and watching how he evolved. Josh also has unique knowledge of many different offenses. I think he understands Drake and how he operates and adapting him into the culture of whomever we’re playing the next week and looking at their weaknesses where we hopefully can exploit it. They’ve developed a great chemistry.”
Maye entered Week 11 ranked in the top five in the NFL in most passing categories, including yards, touchdowns, completion percentage, yards per attempt, passer rating, EPA/play and completion percentage over expected. The second-year pro has been one of the league’s best deep passers and has excelled against the blitz.
Kraft said he also appreciates Maye’s demeanor.
“Drake is unusual to me in how he’s really humble,” Kraft said. “He comes from a wonderful family. I love that he married his seventh-grade girlfriend and he’s not into glitz. He’s into hard work and doing what has to be done. That’s a good New England culture and what our family and people in this region are about. And we like to win, in case you forgot.”
The Patriots have won quite a bit this season with Maye behind center and head coach Mike Vrabel on the sideline. They carried an 8-2 record and a seven-game win streak into Thursday’s primetime matchup at Gillette Stadium. Barring a total late-season collapse, they should fulfill Kraft’s stated goal of returning to the postseason for the first time since 2021.
“We’ll just keep our fingers crossed and stay humble and under control and practicing hard,” Kraft said. “There’s a great culture and attitude. Mike and his staff have done a great job, and we’re excited. But we’ll go week to week.”
