Before the 2025 season began, it was clear that Jayden Daniels was the best QB from his 2024 draft class. But now, well into his sophomore season, injuries have held him back from ascending into the superstar we believe he can become. And it’s Drake Maye who now looks like he could turn out to be the better QB from the class.
It’s wild how quickly things can shift in the NFL. But this season, Maye has shown that he is on Daniels‘ level. Perhaps he’s even better as things stand today.
However, some still aren’t giving Maye full credit for the New England Patriots’ success, believing Mike Vrabel deserves more praise. That’s understandable since it’s Vrabel’s first year as head coach and the team is 8-2. After all, Maye struggled under Jerod Mayo last season. Even then, Ryan Clark believes this year’s turnaround has more to do with Maye than anyone else.
“It’s Drake Maye,” Clark stated. “Coming into the season, the question was, ‘Can Drake Maye do enough for this offense to compete?’… When that’s the pushback, and then the team does this, and Drake Maye is in the MVP conversation, leading the MVP conversation, you can’t go, ‘Man, it’s everybody else!’”
It’s quite a good point. Maye has been exceptional this season, to the point where fans can’t deny that he has the potential to be special. He’s thrown 19 TDs to just 5 INTs, and is third in the league with 2,555 passing yards. He’s also added 283 rushing yards and 2 rushing TDs.
Atop the AFC, leading the MVP conversation, and with momentum on his side, Clark said this was the exact type of season everyone expected from Daniels, not Maye.
“Drake Maye this year is everything Jayden Daniels was last year, and what we thought he’d ascend to be this year.”
Unfortunately, the 2025 season hasn’t been kind to Daniels. He started the campaign well, but got hurt at the end of the second game of the season, forcing him to miss two games. Then, after coming back and playing in three straight fixtures, he left early against the Dallas Cowboys due to injury. Daniels missed one game, then came back for Sunday Night Football, where he suffered a
Surprisingly, though, no ligament or bone damage occurred in Daniel’s arm dislocation, which means that he could come back sooner rather than later. But the season feels mostly lost, as the Washington Commanders are 3-7 and need a miracle to get back into the playoff hunt.
The setbacks to Daniels have allowed Maye to steal the spotlight. He’s taken the ball and run with it, leading the Pats to a level of success they haven’t seen since Tom Brady. Maybe next season, the Commanders QB will have a chance to redeem himself. But injuries were already a major concern for him coming into the NFL, given his style of play. So, we’ll just have to wait and see.
The New Orleans Saints recently turned to Tyler Shough to take over as their starting quarterback over Spencer Rattler. Shough has been solid in his time as the starter, but he still has a lot to prove.
Shough has the potential to be the franchise signal caller in New Orleans, but with the Saints sitting at the bottom of the standings, they could look to find a new quarterback at the top of the first round in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz recently put together a mock draft for the 2026 NFL Draft and predicted the Saints would select Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza at the top of the first round.
“A franchise with a decades-long habit of being trigger-shy when it comes to selecting quarterbacks might be hard-pressed to go this route, especially if Tyler Shough continues to exhibit the promise he displayed in his second start,” Middlehurst-Schwartz wrote. “But unless the second-round rookie firmly establishes himself as New Orleans’ answer at the position in the back half of the season, Mendoza might be massively alluring.
“The Heisman Trophy front-runner now also figures to be the favorite to be the first quarterback taken, with his game-winning drive against Penn State highlighting resiliency and a knack for operating out of structure that otherwise hadn’t been seen often this season. The 6-5, 225-pounder is the kind of precise thrower who could allow Kellen Moore to launch a new era for the organization in earnest.”
Mendoza could be the perfect option for the Saints at the top of the first round if they want a new quarterback. He’s been one of the top quarterbacks in college football this season and has a chance to lead Indiana to a National Championship.
But there’s a chance the Saints believe Shough could be their franchise signal caller. At that point, they could pass on Mendoza and take a player like Arvell Reese or Rueben Bain Jr.
Either way, the Saints need to hit a home run with their No. 1 pick to begin getting back to winning games next season.