Drake Maye lost the 2025 MVP by a single first-place vote at age 23, and the case for him winning it in 2026 only got stronger this offseason.
That tension framed the latest PFSN Football Debate Club, where New England Patriots beat writer Doug Kyed and NFL analyst Jacob Infante split on whether the Patriots quarterback is a lock or whether bettors should look elsewhere.
Why Drake Maye Is the 2026 MVP Favorite
Kyed’s argument starts with the arc young quarterbacks tend to follow. “I’m going to go lock on this one,” he said. “One vote away during his second season. We saw Josh Allen take a sizable leap in his third season with the Bills, even bigger one in the fourth season. I’m expecting the same thing from Drake Maye this season.”
The comp holds. Allen’s year-three breakout in 2020 launched him into the MVP conversation, and he has lived there ever since. Maye is now entering his own third NFL season, and the pieces around him have moved in his favor.
“Another year in Josh McDaniels’ offense, better offensive line around him. They’ve upgraded there,” Kyed said. “If A.J. Brown comes around, upgraded the wide receiver core as well. So I’m expecting even better things, bigger things from Drake Maye here.”
Each point checks out. McDaniels returns as offensive coordinator, giving Maye back-to-back seasons in one system for the first time after an earlier coordinator change. New England used its first-round pick on tackle Caleb Lomu to shore up a line that let Maye get sacked an NFL-record 21 times in the postseason, six of them in the Super Bowl loss to Seattle. The long-rumored A.J. Brown trade, expected after June 1 for a future first-round pick, would hand Maye a true No. 1 receiver.
The baseline is already elite. Maye led the league in completion percentage at 72.0% and posted a 113.5 passer rating with 31 touchdowns and 4,394 yards, carrying New England to a 14-3 record and the AFC title. He was also one of five finalists for Offensive Player of the Year. Voters reward production and winning, and Maye now has more of both within reach.
Joe Burrow Is the Sharpest Bet Against Him
Infante respected the resume and went the other way. “I like the chances of it happening, but I’m going to go in a different direction,” he said. “I’ll take Joe Burrow, actually, as my MVP pick.”
His case leaned on what Cincinnati looked like without its quarterback. “We saw what the Bengals were without him in 2025,” Infante said. “They were 5-3 when he was healthy. They were 1-8 without him.”
The math backs him. Burrow went 5-3 in his eight starts around a Week 2 toe injury that cost him roughly half the season, and the Bengals finished 6-11, going 1-8 in the games he missed. A healthy 17-game run with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, plus the improved defense Infante pointed to, is a real MVP path.
He was careful not to diminish Maye to make the point. “Maye is an incredible passer. Don’t get me wrong. He definitely belongs in those conversations,” Infante said. “I’m just going in a different direction with my pick.”
Burrow’s case depends on health, which has cut short multiple seasons, including 2023 and 2025. Maye’s depends on a floor that keeps rising. The smart money is on the quarterback who already finished a vote short with a thinner roster than the one he will have in September.
