Drake Maye Has Quickly Become the Best Deep Ball Passer in the NFL

It's one of those things lost to history that everyone sort of moved on from once the evidence to the contrary became overwhelming. Like the geocentric model of the universe, health being based on the balance of "humors" in the body, or thinking The Big Bang Theory was America's No. 1 comedy, people once actually believed that Tom Brady was "a system quarterback." That all his success was based on a combination of dinking combined with dunking. 

This myth was a widely held belief as recently as just a few years ago when NFL.com's Bucky Brooks was espousing it and Reddit threads were promoting it after he retired. 

I mean, the theory was always ludicrous from very beginning. If quarterbacking in the NFL was so simple that all you needed was a "system" to turn you into the best there has ever been, then it begs the obvious question why nobody simply handed the same "system" to Tim Tebow or JaMarcus Russell or whomever and make them GOATs. If you just could hand me some sheet music, plug a Fender Stratocaster into an amp and make me into Jimi Hendrix, I'd be selling out stadia instead of using my steering wheel as an air guitar while rocking out with my cock out to "All Along the Watchtower." 

While those Tom Brady battles were fought long after they were lost, no such argument is being made about his successor. Make that the successor to the successor to his successor. Because before our very eyes, Drake Maye is already proving that he's the furthest thing from a Dinker or a Dunker. 

Even at the age of 23, with just 18 career starts, when he'll finish his second season still younger than Jayden Daniels was when he took his first NFL snap, Maye has established himself as statistically the best thrower of deep balls in the league. The numbers do not lie any more than that video does:

ESPN - Maye went 3-for-3 for 107 yards and three touchdown passes on throws of 20 or more yards downfield in the first half -- one to wide receiver DeMario Douglas and the other two to receiver Kayshon Boutte. All were touchdowns, which tied for the most such plays by any player in a game this season. ... Maye had hit five straight passing plays thrown 20 or more yards downfield entering the game, giving him a streak of eight in a row. 

According to Pro Football Focus's record keeping, Maye's passer rating on throws of 20+ air yards is an almost perfect, almost god-like 156.3. His grade is 99.7, just a fraction below Sam Darnold's 99.9. And his completion % on such throws of 75.0% is just a couple of percentage points behind Brock Purdy, who's only appeared in two games. 

And all these numbers reflect the fact he's officially made 16 such attempts and completed 12 of them. When the actual numbers should be 14 completions on 18 attempts, since he got robbed twice in New Orleans two bombs thanks to the greatest miscarriage of justice since the Dreyfus Affair.

If we know anything about how the NFL works in the modern era, and I assert that we do, Maye's emergence as a star in this league will only lead to more reputation calls, going in his favor instead of against a guy who's basically finishing up one full season as a starter. 

And as adequate as the Patriots receiver room has been, it's not exactly packed like a rush hour train with elite, field-stretching wideouts stressing deep coverages. So far it's all been scheme, solid route-running, and a special young quarterback with a US Navy Mark 45 5-inch cannon for an arm armed with precision-guided munitions. 

Now imagine how good Maye will be when he actually matures as a passer. Be afraid, NFL. This is your impending doom approaching.