SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Drake Maye has been to a Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium before.
He traveled here as a middle schooler from his home in Charlotte, N.C., to watch the hometown Panthers in Super Bowl 50. The Panthers lost to the Broncos that day. Now, 10 years later, Maye will play in Super Bowl 2026 as the Patriots quarterback against the Seahawks on Sunday.
“Now to be here playing one myself, I don’t take it for granted,” Maye said. “I know how special this is. Just trying to enjoy it, enjoy it with my teammates, enjoy it with everybody that helped me get here and from there try to go win it.”
It’s been a remarkable rise for Maye, who has reached the pinnacle of the sport in just his second season. He will join Dan Marino and Ben Roethlisberger as the only quarterbacks to start a Super Bowl before their 24th birthday. Maye will be 23 years, 162 days old Sunday. Marino is the only quarterback ever to start the Super Bowl at a younger age (23 years, 127 days).
The Patriots took Maye with the No. 3 pick in 2024 out of North Carolina. He had some good moments as a rookie but was not viewed as one of the top players in the league. In 2025, he became an MVP candidate and led the Patriots to a 14-3 record, then through the AFC playoffs to this game.
Mike Vrabel, who took over as head coach this year, said there are no secrets to what Maye has done.
“I think it all starts with talent,” Vrabel said. “I think he’s extremely talented. I think he’s athletic. I think he plays the position athletically and that allows him to be accurate with the football whether that’s in the pocket or extending plays. He’s a competitor. He’s always trying to learn. He continues to build and develop as a leader. His success and his performance is a large part of why we’re here.”
NBC Sports analyst Chris Simms does annual rankings of the quarterbacks in the NFL draft and he had Maye ranked sixth in 2024.
“He wasn’t my favorite coming out,” Simms said. “I made him sixth out of all the guys because if you went back and we watched film of North Carolina his last year, you’d go slant, he’s like 50 percent throwing a slant route. People were falling to the ground wide open but he fixed all of it.”
Simms questioned Maye’s mechanics coming out of North Carolina.
“I think the biggest thing — his throws at time in college were segmented,” Simms said. “He’d start a throwing motion and then restart it. He’d start it, stop and then restart it. You’d be like, ‘Ooh, that’s not very smooth and flowing.’ His feet were all over the place. He was like Dorothy [in “The Wizard of Oz”], his heels were tapping all the time. Quarterbacks, you have to keep a base so you can stay in a throwing position and hop around the pocket. Those were things where I was like, man, I see talent but I see a lot of rawness. That’s what I questioned. Credit to him for fixing that. We’re in an era where there are people that can fix you with your quarterback mechanics. Then, I think when you get some coaches like Vrabel and [offensive coordinator Josh] McDaniels, they even hone in on it even more.”
While Simms had questions, Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte said Maye’s talent was obvious to his teammates nearly immediately.
“I always knew Drake Maye was that guy,” Boutte said. “I always believed in him and what he could do. When you practice with a guy every day you see his ability and what he’s able to do so I’ve always been a Drake Maye believer.”
There are questions about Maye entering this game, starting with his health. He’s dealing with a right shoulder injury, but he said Monday that he’s fine and ready to go.
His play has not been as strong in the playoffs, although it is fair to point out he has faced some tough defenses in the Chargers, Texans and Broncos. Still, Simms wondered about his confidence entering this game.
“It’s been five or six weeks since he’s been like, ‘Hey, I’m on fire,’ ” Simms said. “That plays into your psyche at that position.”
