• Another good performance: Maye’s 74.9 passing grade in Week 4 was his second-highest of the season and marked his third game in four weeks with a passing grade above 73.0.
• Excelling down the field: On passes thrown 10 or more yards downfield, his 83.7 passing grade and 61.4% adjusted completion percentage both rank inside the NFL’s top 10.
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After a tough loss in Pittsburgh, Drake Maye and the Patriots bounced back in dominant fashion with a blowout win over the Panthers in Week 4. Maye delivered another strong outing, playing with a high level of efficiency. The second-year quarterback has quietly been one of the more consistent performers at his position and is beginning to show why he was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Maye’s 74.9 passing grade was his second-highest of the season and marked his third game in four weeks with a passing grade above 73.0. While the box score numbers may not jump off the page, Maye consistently made the right reads and recorded just two negatively graded throws all game.

One of Maye’s biggest strengths coming out of college was his arm strength and overall arm talent. He continues to showcase this in the NFL, delivering effortless velocity to all areas of the field.

The above play was a relatively straightforward decision, with the Panthers in man coverage and Stefon Diggs winning cleanly on his route. The throw itself is still impressive, though.

Maye does an excellent job angling his body to make the throw, then shows off his arm talent with an effortless pass across the field. The ball placement is perfect, hitting Diggs in stride and allowing for additional yards after the catch.

Maye has excelled on these types of throws all season. On passes thrown 10 or more yards downfield, his 83.7 passing grade and 61.4% adjusted completion percentage both rank inside the NFL’s top 10.

Arm strength is just one element of playing quarterback, but Maye has shown he’s starting to truly understand how to dissect NFL defenses.

This pass may have only gone for 8 yards, but this was one of Maye’s most impressive throws on Sunday.

One way to beat the blitz is to throw directly into it, targeting the area of the field vacated by the pressure. That’s exactly what Maye does here on a key third down in the red zone. He quickly diagnoses the blitz and begins his throwing motion before the receiver is out of his break, trusting both the route and his arm strength. If he’s even a second late, the pass likely falls incomplete. It’s a short throw, but the mental processing and timing required make it highly impressive.

Coming out of college, Maye was known for his ability to attack the middle of the field with layered, anticipatory throws, and he’s carried that over to the NFL. His 50 completions over the middle rank fourth among all quarterbacks this season.

These types of throws require elite anticipation, which is exactly what makes them so difficult to execute.

When the Panthers rotate into a Cover 3 look, Maye correctly identifies the deep crossing route as the most likely to come open. To ensure the underneath linebacker doesn’t drift too deep and take it away, Maye manipulates the defender with his eyes—looking toward the running back checkdown to pull the linebacker closer to the line of scrimmage. He then delivers a perfectly placed throw just behind the defender on third-and-long.

The bottom line

The Patriots’ long-term success hinges on Drake Maye’s development, and through four games, he’s trending in a very positive direction.

He’s playing with impressive efficiency — avoiding negative plays, consistently delivering the ball on time, and making smart decisions. Maye has cut down on the erratic misses that showed up in college and early in his rookie season and is now leading New England to dominant wins.