The New England Patriots have heared how highly the rest of the NFL views quarterback Drake Maye.
The latest vote from his peers might make a different ranking released Friday look even stranger.
Maye landed at No. 11 in the NFL Top 100 Players of 2026, a list voted on by players across the league.
NFL.com called the 23-year-old an MVP runner-up who “propelled the Patriots back into the NFL hierarchy” after a second season that ended with New England in Super Bowl LX.
Hours earlier, The Athletic released its ranking of the NFL’s top players age 25 and younger, and Maye landed at No. 11 there, too.
The matching number creates an eye-catching contrast.
NFL players considered Maye worthy of the No. 11 spot when choosing from the entire league.
A panel of coaches, scouts and front-office members put him in the exact same place when the pool was restricted to players 25 and younger.
NFL Players Put Maye on Verge of Top 10
GettyFOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – AUGUST 11: Drake Maye #10 of the New England Patriots reacts during a joint practice with the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium on August 11, 2026 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Getty Images)
Maye’s debut on the NFL Top 100 followed a season that changed the Patriots’ outlook in a hurry.
He completed an NFL-best 72.0% of his passes while throwing for 4,394 yards, 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions. His 8.9 yards per attempt also led the league, and he added 450 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
The production defined team success, as New England reclaimed the AFC East to return to the playoffs, with the cherry on top being a Super Bowl berth for the first time since the 2018 season.
Maye also finished second in MVP voting to pop himself in the discussion alongside the league’s premier quarterbacks before his 24th birthday.
NFL players responded by placing him one spot outside the Top 100’s top 10.
NFL.com also highlighted Maye’s work in tight windows. He completed 48.2% of those attempts in 2025, the best mark in the league and 17.1 percentage points above the NFL average.
A ranking that high among every age group makes his placement on a youth-only list more debatable.
Maye’s Under-25 Ranking Creates Strange Variance
GettyFOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – JANUARY 18: Drake Maye #10 of the New England Patriots warms up prior to the AFC Divisional Playoff game against the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium on January 18, 2026 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
The Athletic’s Mike Jones wrote that nearly two dozen NFL coaches, scouts and front-office members helped determine its top 25, with players required to be 25 or younger at the start of the regular season.
Maye finished No. 11 despite being the first quarterback selected.
The 10 players ahead of him included four defensive backs, two defensive linemen, an offensive tackle, a tight end, a wide receiver and a running back.
Each has a rightful case as an elite player at his position.
The question is whether 10 young players should rank ahead of a quarterback who nearly won MVP and already guided his team to a Super Bowl.
The Athletic’s own quarterback evaluation adds another wrinkle.
In its 2026 QB tiers, Maye tied for eighth overall and one personnel executive described him as “a high 2 on his way to a 1″, an assessment that sounds closer to the message NFL players sent with their Top 100 ballots.
There’s much subjectivity in comparing quarterbacks with cornerbacks, pass rushers and skill-position stars.
The Athletic also clearly views Maye as the best young quarterback in football.
No. 11 among all NFL players and No. 11 among only those 25 and younger, however, don’t match up quite well.
Patriots’ Drake Maye Gets Head-Scratching Ranking After NFL Players Put Him No. 11