“When the game comes, this play is called, it matters.” This is what 22-year-old Drake Maye said to a teammate before crushing the Chicago Bears 19-3 in a week 10 matchup. Drake Maye was not a starting QB of the New England Patriots until he dethroned Jacoby Brissett. The No.3 pick of the 2024 NFL drafts has shown his worth in the first season and on Thursday, he dropped an update on Instagram.

The former North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback had a great first season at the Patriots. The team has not been able to enter into playoffs due to the catastrophic performance (4-13). Though their last game was good, the season is gone now, and the offseason has started to prepare for 2025. But amid this muck of demotivation, as a human being, you never stop growing up. Maye is an example of this! Drake Maye has just posted several pics of him and his colleagues on Instagram with the caption: “Onward and upward #1year.”

The Patriots No.10 has never looked back since taking charge of the starting QB position. This season he has contributed a total of 15 touchdowns, which is why he ranks at the 23rd position among the league QBs in TDs. That’s a good thing for a rookie. Besides this, he has earned a quarterback rating of 58.4 and ranks 17th. Though the North Carolina alumni has through 10 interceptions, he threw for 2276 passing yards. That’s great, right?

Obviously, this year was not a great one for the Patriots but without a doubt, we can say, that Maye has given his all for the team. The Patriots played and heard fans saying “Fire Mayo… fire Mayo”, a call for HC Jerod Mayo, which was a hit for the team, but they managed to stand on their feet and in the next game Maye defeated the Buffalo Bills.

The Patriots HC could have continued for 2025

Before the Patriots‘ last game, a rumor was going on that head coach Jerod Mayo would be fired, but it became true after the final game of the regular season. Actually, it was an honor for a former NFL player who had played 8 seasons for the Patriots as a linebacker. But the way they parted ways was heartbreaking!

However, experts believe that Mayo could have saved his job. Two senior writers at the Boston Herald, Andrew Callahan and Doug Kyed, have come up with a thought: “The Patriots flipped one of their December blowout losses to Arizona and later the Chargers, Mayo might have kept his job.” In December, Drake Maye’s Patriots lost to the Arizona Cardinals by 30-17. But the most horrible blunder was their Chargers game. Jerod Mayo couldn’t help the team but accept the shameful 40-7 defeat by the Chargers. If he had won some of the games with a decent score, the head coach could have saved his job.

The Patriots hired Jerod Mayo as a linebacker coach in 2019. He was doing good, but in 2024 he became the 15th HC of the franchise. He won the first game of his head coaching career vs the Bengals. This was Jerod Mayo’s first year of head coaching career and it has been a big setback. But hope he will bounce back with a great performance one day. Now, it will be an exciting thing to see who will be taking charge of head coach Drake Maye and Co.