SAN JOSE, Calif. — Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is living the life Bears quarterback Caleb Williams imagined. Well before the Bears drafted Williams first overall in 2024, with Maye going two picks later, he talked openly about taking the NFL by storm and eventually winning more Super Bowls than Tom Brady.
But while Williams went first in the draft, Maye is the first to reach the highest level of the league by leading his team to a Super Bowl. The Patriots, who were worse than the Bears last season, and Maye, who was behind Williams as a rookie, will face the Seahawks for the championship Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.
Williams still has a chance to catch up, and there certainly were signs this season that he’ll make a run at that. But winning trumps all, and Maye has made it deeper into the playoffs than the other five first-rounders that year.
“Being able to experience what everybody in this league works for, at such a young age, is a blessing,” Maye said Monday. “There are guys on this team that have played 10-14 years and never made it, and [I know] how much of an opportunity we have this week. Getting a chance to go win the Super Bowl? That sounds pretty good.”
Maye was the center of attention during the Patriots’ hour of the annual media night to kick off Super Bowl week. The massive crowd around his podium alternated between football questions and asking him to rank his wife’s baked goods and give a shoutout to Patriots superfan Matt Damon.
That’s what it’s like at the top. Maye can tell the other quarterbacks from that class stories about it next time he sees them.
Williams is friends with Maye and described the group of six quarterbacks who went in the top 12 picks as “a pretty badass class” that will be competing against each other for years.
The Commanders’ Jayden Daniels, the No. 2 pick, took the early lead by winning Offensive Rookie of the Year and reaching the NFC Championship Game last season. The Broncos’ Bo Nix went 10th overall and has reached the playoffs twice. Williams got the Bears their first postseason win in 15 years and appears to be well on his way.
The Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy and the Falcons’ Michael Penix still have a ton to prove going into next season.
Maye leads the pack, though, after helping the Patriots leap from going 4-13 in 2023 and ‘24 to 14-3 and a Super Bowl trip this season.
No one would say Maye merely was along for the ride, either, after a phenomenal second season in which he led the NFL with a 113.5 passer rating. Maye threw 31 touchdown passes and eight interceptions and averaged 258.5 yards per game. He’s likely to finish as runner up to the Rams’ Matthew Stafford when the MVP is awarded Thursday.
Williams said during the season he enjoyed watching Maye play and was happy for his success, but he doesn’t compare himself to the other quarterbacks in his class.
Much like Williams, Maye has made major strides since his rookie season. The two quarterbacks played an ugly game at Soldier Field, a 19-3 win by the Patriots, in which neither of them reached 200 yards or an 80 passer rating.
Both were hindered by dysfunction as rookies. While the Bears corrected that by hiring coach Ben Johnson, the Patriots did the same by bringing in coach Mike Vrabel and several veteran assistants, including offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and passing-game coordinator Thomas Brown, the Bears’ interim coach last season.
“It’s proof about being able to trust the process and evolve and trust his natural ability and trust the coaching regime,” Brown told the Sun-Times when asked about Maye making the Super Bowl in Year 2. “And it’ll bode well for him for the future.”
Every team tries to cash in on a quarterback’s rookie contract, and Maye has enabled the Patriots to do that. He was close to Stafford’s level this season at a fraction of the cost. While Stafford carried a $47.5 million salary-cap hit, the Patriots were able to spend big in free agency because Maye’s hit was just $8.3 million. It was similar for the Bears with Williams’ hit at $9 million this season.
Several teams have capitalized on that opportunity over the last few seasons, dating back to the Chiefs’ Super Bowl win in Patrick Mahomes’ third season. The Bengals’ Joe Burrow and the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts reached a Super Bowl on their rookie deals as well.
Those deep runs also were hugely beneficial to the quarterbacks themselves. The more they experience early in their careers, the better.
“Just going through the whole process [where] you come a week early and it’s a big, drawn-out affair, the experience of going through the motions and knowing what to expect Super Bowl Week is invaluable,” said Bears left guard Joe Thuney, who won two Super Bowls apiece with the Patriots and Chiefs. “You kind of learn what it’s about.”
Maye also will get a sense of the enormous stakes of the game and the pressure on every play. Once he gets that experience Sunday, win or lose, no game will ever be daunting to him again. That alone makes this a huge step in his career and puts him farther along than his peers.
