No One Quite Understands Drake Maye's Nickname -- And That's The Point

They call him "Drake Maye." As in Drake "Drake Maye" Maye.

"It’s pretty clever," Maye told NBC Sports earlier this month about the nickname. "The guys have been calling me that in the locker room."

Maye is unsure who first gave him the nickname, but he suspects it came from someone on social media. The joke is that he is so good he does not need a nickname. Think of the popular social media post, "That’s it. That’s the tweet."

Drake Maye. That’s it. That’s the tweet.

The joke has become so popular that it is listed on Maye’s Pro Football Reference page as his official nickname. Fans are ordering custom Patriots jerseys with the words "Drake Maye" in quotes on the back.

Even the official NFL X account, with 35.7 million followers, is in on it:

"I don’t think that anything that he’s shown so far is anything that anybody could have ever predicted and been like, ‘Man, this is Drake Maye,’" teammate K’Lavon Chaisson told reporters this week. "You know? Drake ‘Drake Maye’ Maye, however you say it. Drake ‘Drake Maye’ Maye. He’s got a cool vibe to him, man."

And whether you get the nickname or not, get used to hearing about the player behind it.

In just his second season, at the age of 23, Maye is already one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. As of Tuesday morning, he is the betting favorite to win the league MVP award. Maye leads the NFL with a 71.7 percent completion rate, and unlike previous leaders, he is not a dink-and-dunk merchant. He also leads the league in yards per attempt at 8.9.

Maye is the first quarterback of this generation to pose a real threat to the quartet of Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Joe Burrow. Until this season, most general managers would have chosen one of those four to start a franchise. Now, it is reasonable to think that about half would take the younger Maye, instead.

"Drake Maye" embodies the idea of a player built in a Madden video game lab. He is big at 6 foot 5, athletic with 830 rushing yards in two seasons, accurate as the league leader, flashy, and throws the deep ball like Steph Curry shoots the three.

"He is the best deep ball thrower in the National Football League," Steve Mariucci recently declared.

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye at MetLife Stadium on December 28, 2025. (Photo by Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Maye also has the opportunity to reach a level of star power that quarterbacks in other markets cannot. Two seasons in, he has revived the legacy franchise of the New England Patriots, which Tom Brady left for dead in 2019.

There is a Jerry West to Magic to Kobe to LeBron to Luka feel to the Brady to Maye transition. While those are nearly unachievable shoes to fill, no one ever called Tom Brady "Tom Brady."

We will see how far Maye can take the Patriots this season. Roster-wise, the team appears to be a year ahead of schedule and likely lacks the overall talent to compete for a Super Bowl. The status of Stefon Diggs, Maye’s top target, is also uncertain following allegations that he strangulated a female chef.

Even so, we expect him to put on enough of a postseason show to introduce a wide audience to Drake "Drake Maye" Maye.