Drake Maye and the New England Patriots didn’t just rebound in the 2025 season. They detonated every expectation placed on them. Twelve months ago, this franchise was dragging through a 13-loss season, drowning in offensive dysfunction and lacking any real identity. Today? They’re sitting at 11–2, holding the AFC’s top seed, and forcing every analyst who buried them in 2024 to start rewriting their takes.
That dramatic turnaround didn’t go unnoticed. And when a 14-year NFL veteran quarterback speaks up, people listen. The former NFL star Chase Daniel didn’t mince words. His reaction cut straight through the noise.
Fourteen-year NFL veteran Chase Daniel publicly praised the Patriots’ dramatic turnaround and put the credit squarely on Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel. Reacting to New England sitting at 11–2 and holding the AFC’s top seed just a year after a 13-loss season, Daniel wrote, “I seriously can’t even fathom how the Patriots lost 13 games last season and now are 11-2 & the ONE SEED.”
He followed it with an even stronger endorsement. “The only reasons that make sense are Drake Maye & Mike Vrabel… only takes 2 people to completely transform your future as a franchise.” Daniel’s comments highlight the growing belief around the league that Maye’s rise and Vrabel’s leadership have fundamentally reshaped New England’s trajectory. And before Daniels’ comment, the Patriots center, Garrett Bradbury, also sent a strong message to Maye.
Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye led the Patriots from Back-to-Back Rock Bottom to Reset
The Patriots didn’t just have one bad year. They stacked two of them.
In 2023 and 2024, they finished 4–13 in consecutive seasons, last in the AFC East both times. The 2024 team under Jerod Mayo scored just 289 points (17.0 per game, 30th in the NFL) and allowed 417 (24.5 per game), with a -128 point differential and one of the league’s least efficient offenses.
Drake Maye still made the Pro Bowl as a rookie. He has completed 66.6% of his passes for 2,276 yards, 15 TD, 10 INT, and added 421 rushing yards. But it was clear he was carrying a broken unit more than steering a functional one.
The Patriots didn’t just have one bad year. They stacked two of them. In 2023 and 2024, they finished 4–13 in consecutive seasons, last in the AFC East both times. The 2024 team under Jerod Mayo scored just 289 points (17.0 per game, 30th in the NFL) and allowed 417 (24.5 per game), with a -128 point differential and one of the league’s least efficient offenses.
So, the ownership responded by clearing the deck: after Mayo’s one season, Mike Vrabel was hired as head coach in January 2025, returning to the franchise where he won three Super Bowls as a player. Eliot Wolf remained in charge of personnel, but the football operation was effectively reset around Maye and Vrabel.
That’s the backbone behind Chase Daniel’s take. He’s not exaggerating when he says Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel have completely transformed the franchise’s future – the numbers, the record, and the way this team plays all back it up.
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