Where Patriots QB Drake Maye ranks among NFL quarterbacks after Week 3

FOXBORO Progress has not consistently been linear for Drake Maye but the future still looks bright for the young Patriots quarterback It appears Maye is beginning to take a second-year leap this season while playing for a new head coach in Mike Vrabel in a new system under offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and with improved pass-catchers and an upgraded offensive line But Maye has also still played inconsistently through the first three weeks of the season as he s led the Patriots to a - record Depending on what stat you re weighing Maye has either already ascended into the upper echelon of quarterbacks or he s a young turnover-prone passer only still flashing traits Related Articles Patriots-Panthers injury description Christian Gonzalez limited Tetairoa McMillan absent When will Efton Chism Kyle Williams see more opportunities for Patriots Patriots Stefon Diggs insists he won t ask for more targets Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez upset he didn t play Sunday dismisses talk-show narrative Patriots mailbag How to handle Rhamondre Stevenson DeMario Douglas Let s dive deeper into those numbers to find out where Maye really stands among NFL quarterbacks Let s start extremely surface level Maye is completing of his passes for yards with five touchdowns two interceptions and a passer rating He ranks second in completion percentage fifth in yards th in yards per attempt seventh in touchdowns th-highest in interceptions and ninth in passer rating That paints the picture of a top- quarterback in the NFL Going more advanced Maye ranks sixth in total EPA expected points added eighth in EPA play fifth in completion percentage over expected seventh in success rate and seventh in accuracy rate Once again it appears Maye ranks as one of the NFL s best quarterbacks and that he s already taken the requisite jump this season Those stats don t account for the Patriots opponents however All of the Patriots first three opponents rank in the bottom seven in defensive passing DVOA defense adjusted value over average The Raiders Dolphins and Steelers all rank in the bottom of total DVOA as well Maye s DVOA this season ranks th He ranks th in QBR an ESPN stat that also adjusts for quality of opponent Maye also already has three turnovers on the season FTN has him charted with four turnover-worthy throws PFF charted him with four turnover-worthy plays He ranks th-highest in FTN s turnover-worthy throw rate and he ranks th-highest in PFF s turnover-worthy play rate He ranked th-highest in turnover-worthy throw rate in and third-highest in turnover-worthy play rate so it s an ongoing issue that bears monitoring Maye s averaging one actual turnover per tournament In his career he s averaging turnovers per competition which ranks him fifth among operational QBs with at least games played He ranks below Jameis Winston Will Levis Bailey Zappe and Sam Howell and just above Trevor Lawrence Anthony Richardson Joshua Dobbs Joe Flacco and Sam Darnold Turnovers in this league are such a big deal Maye announced Wednesday It s one of those things that we can clean up Holding onto the football me holding on in the pocket and the running backs is something that I do think is fixable It s something that you try to overemphasize and usually when you overemphasize things you fix it Something throughout the week is just trying to do the extra little things to protect it and me in the pocket ensure there s two hands on it and just know when the play is over In Week Maye had two turnovers and both came at pivotal moments of the challenge He was intercepted on third down in the red zone to finish the first half when a target into the end zone intended for Kayshon Boutte was tipped at the line and picked off Both Maye and Vrabel both announced Maye s pass should have been arced more He also fumbled midway through the fourth quarter while the number was tied - and the Patriots were driving for a go-ahead figure at the Steelers -yard line And those are the stories that raw details can t tell For Maye wins and losses are still the majority of major stat Winning matters to me That s the main goal It s why I play this position why I play this sport Maye noted With quarterback the ultimate stat is wins So that s the biggest thing that I focus on If that s throwing touchdowns in a contest or throwing one pass in a match just trying to win Maye is officially - as a starter but he didn t finish two of those wins last season So in games that he started and finished he s only - in his young career New England Patriots quarterbacks Drake Maye left and Joshua Dobbs during a group practice Wednesday Mark Stockwell Boston Herald So far this season Maye ranks th among QBs in overall PFF grade and th in passing grade He ranks th in The Ringer s QB rankings formulated by Steven Ruiz and FOX Sports QB stock territory put together by Henry McKenna He s th in The Athletic s QB stock description assembled by Jeff Howe It s fair to say based on information circumstances context and supporting cast that Maye is in the present outside of the top NFL QBs but firmly above the bottom third He has the traits to land inside the top by season s end and he can take that full second-year leap if he can begin to limit his turnovers