‘The Athletic’ returned with its yearly Quarterback Tiers. As many as 50 NFL coaches and executives shared their evaluations about various QBs and placed them in either Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, Tier 4, or Tier 5. Voters remained anonymous for the survey as they placed Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Matthew Stafford in Tier 1. And as we scrolled further, we noticed that the Patriots‘ Drake Maye was placed in Tier 3; he was #22 on the lengthy list. But that wasn’t the surprising factor.

Instead, an anonymous offensive coordinator said things that no New England player would like to hear, despite everything that transpired last season. “His [Maye] team was so bad. Vince Lombardi couldn’t have gotten that team any more wins than they got.

“Maye has promise. There is talent. There is ability. I think he looked very natural at the position,” said the OC, as shared by The Athletic. Indeed, last season was almost forgettable. Their 4-13 record was the worst since 1992. But Drake Maye’s development was an exception. It was the story of the season; that is, if one leaves out parts where fans were calling for then-HC Jerod Mayo to be fired… or how the stadiums would stay half-empty.

In fact, a coach told ‘The Athletic’ just that: “Drake turned the ball over a lot, he got injured and had a concussion… But it was tough what they were doing offensively under Jerod Mayo.” The offense was historically bad: By mid-October, they barely scored more than 20 points in each game, and they were averaging 119 net passing yards per game. It was by far the worst in the league.

The old Patriots team, the one that Bill Belichick personified, was dead.

But here’s a positive: An anonymous offensive coach said, “(Maye) is a big athlete that has good vision, can push the ball up the field, he can run, I think he’s coachable. Josh (McDaniels) does a good job of eliminating negative plays with a quarterback, so I think that will help him.”

However, a defensive coach, whose team faced Maye, pushed back against the excitement. He said, “I remember coming out of our game, and people were like, ‘Oh, we saw the future,’ and I’m like, ‘I don’t know about that; he made about three throws’ … Let’s not Winston Wolf it yet.”

But now, with Mike Vrabel as the HC, fans hope he can bring back the Bill Belichick nostalgia. After all, he played for Belichick, and the legendary coach has acknowledged Vrabel’s leadership, commitment, and situational awareness. One can only hope that the 16th HC in the team’s history, along with a young QB who showed good development, can flip the script this season.

Perhaps some good wins for the team and brilliant plays can push QB Maye to Tier 2 next year. What do you think?