The 2024 season was one to forget for the Patriots. New England went just 4–13 and fired Jerod Mayo after just one season as the successor to Bill Belichick. Even with those struggles, the season set the stage for the Patriots to make their unexpected run to the Super Bowl in ‘25.
Drake Maye, the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL draft, flashed his impressive potential as a rookie, completing 66.6% of his throws for 2,276 yards, 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 13 games (12 starts). He was productive despite playing in an offense devoid of skill position talent, and made the struggling New England team much more competitive with him in the lineup.
Meanwhile, former Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel—a three-time Super Bowl champion with New England—was watching while serving as a consultant with the Browns, taking a year away from coaching after his surprising dismissal as Titans coach. The allure for a Patriots great to take the job was already clear, but Vrabel said Wednesday that seeing Maye play as a rookie and his unique skillset helped convince him that it was the right job for him. (His answer begins around the 14:40 mark in the video below).
“I think I probably realized that before I got here,” Vrabel said. “It’s a large part of the reason that I wanted to be here. There were plays in training camp and things that he did—the accuracy outside the pocket or on the move, the way he plays the position, he has an athletic nature to the way he plays the position. I think that’s somewhat unique. Everybody has a different skill set, and he’s comfortable in the pocket. I think his ability to transfer up in the pocket, to make moves, to make throws off platform and at different angles has been impressive.”
Certainly his instincts have been proven correct.
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Maye is an MVP candidate this season, leading New England to a 14–3 regular season record and completing 72% of his throws for 4,394 yards, 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions while adding 450 yards on the ground and four scores.
He’s struggled a bit in the playoffs, completing just 55.8% of his throws and seeing his quarterback rating dip from its impressive regular season mark of 113.5 to 84, though he’s played some of the league’s best defenses in the Texans and Broncos and overcame some abysmal second-half weather in Denver. Six-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady leaned on an elite defense that featured Vrabel during some of his early championship runs. Maye has a long way to go before he’s mentioned in the same breath as Brady, but if you squint you can certainly see similarities between this year’s team and the one that took down the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mike Vrabel Says Drake Maye Was ‘Large Part of the Reason’ He Wanted to Coach Patriots.
