A month ago Drake Maye woke up as the quarterback of a 1–2 football team and with plenty of questions about what type of quarterback he could become in his second NFL season en route an uncertain ceiling. Five wins over the past five Sundays have moved New England to the top of the AFC East and catapulted Maye into a much different discussion.
"The MVP of the NFL right now is Drake Maye," Orlovsky said on Thursday's Get Up.
"Jonathan [Taylor's] having an outstanding season ... [but] the MVP of the NFL right now is Drake Maye."
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) October 30, 2025
—@danorlovsky7 pic.twitter.com/Z6OaGVaMg9
Now, they don't give the biggest individual prize in professional football out after eight weeks of the season and it'd be pretty silly if they did. So there's not much tangible Maye can take away from this clip to hang in his rec room. But even the fact that Orlovsky is willing to say such a thing is the clearest evidence yet that Maye has entered a brand-new world.
Whether he has the chops and consistency to continue inhabiting it remains to be seen.
Orlovsky gave Maye credit based on his receiving corps, which features Stefon Diggs coming off an ACL injury and Kayshon Boutte, plus tight ends that are longer in their career than they are young. There is no doubt that the former North Carolina product has been fantastic to this point, leading the NFL in quarterback rating and completion percentage. His deep balls have been majestic and the mettle he showed in the Pats' win over the Bills—their biggest to this point—suggests no moment will be too big or too soon for him.
Still, as unlikely as it is that Maye would be identified as the if-the-season-finished-today MVP, it's even more unlikely that he wins this thing after all 17 regular season games are played. Patrick Mahomes is back in full force. Josh Allen will have a chance to catch Maye and outplay him with the division likely on the line. Jonathan Taylor's numbers are going to be ridiculous.
If Maye does walk away with the honors in a stunner, he'll have to really earn it.
More NFL on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Dan Orlovsky Reveals His Surprising NFL MVP Entering Week 9 Slate.
