What Would It Take to Trade for Drake Maye? (A Fun Football Thought Experiment)

Drake Maye Isn’t Going Anywhere

Drake Maye is not being traded. He is the New England Patriots’ main quarterback (the player who throws the ball and leads the team on offense), and the team plans to keep him.

But during the NFL offseason (the part of the year when games aren’t being played), it’s fun to imagine "what if" situations. One popular question is: How much would another team have to give up to trade for the Patriots’ star quarterback?

What Is ESPN’s Bill Barnwell Thinking?

ESPN writer Bill Barnwell tried to answer that question in a new article on Thursday.

He says right away that these ideas are just make-believe. Teams probably wouldn’t actually do most of them — and the Patriots trading Maye is definitely one of those fake ideas.

But if it did happen?

Important Point: Barnwell estimates the Patriots could get six first-round picks in return for Maye. First-round picks are the top choices a team gets to pick new young players in the annual draft.

Why Is Maye Worth So Much?

Barnwell explains it like this:

• Maye is only 23 years old.
• In only his second season, he almost won the league MVP (Most Valuable Player) award — he was just a couple of votes away!
• Barnwell writes: "When you’re a 23-year-old quarterback who came within a couple of votes of winning league MVP in your second season, you’re going to be worth a lot!"
• Some quarterbacks make a big jump early and then stop improving (like Carson Wentz did with the Eagles), but Maye’s great 2025 season makes people believe he’ll be a top quarterback for 10 more years or longer.

How Does Maye Compare to Josh Allen?

Inside their division (the AFC East, a group of teams they play twice a year), Barnwell says:

• Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is worth seven first-round picks.
• Maye is worth six.

But Maye has a money advantage:

• Maye is one year away from even being allowed a new contract.
• The Patriots can wait and use his cheap rookie contract plus an extra team option year to spread out the cost.
• That means they can pay him later without hurting their salary cap (the limit on how much money teams can spend) too badly.

Barnwell notes Maye might even be more valuable than Allen because of his age, but people hesitate because Maye didn’t play as well in the postseason (the playoff games) against tougher teams.

Important Point: Even with the postseason worry, Barnwell says Maye is one of the most valuable players in all of football.

What Else Could a Trade Look Like?

A quarterback as young and talented as Maye has never been traded while at his very best, so nobody really knows how teams would react.

If the Patriots ever did trade him:

• They would get first-round picks.
• They also would get other good players in return.

It would be one of the most shocking deals ever in NFL history — and you should not expect it to happen anytime soon.

Why Is This Fun to Talk About?

Even though it’s fake, thinking about this shows just how much the whole league respects Drake Maye.

Summary

• Drake Maye is the Patriots’ quarterback and is not being traded.
• ESPN’s Bill Barnwell imagined what a trade would look like.
• Maye could be worth six first-round picks.
• He is young, almost won MVP, and has a cheaper contract than Josh Allen.
• A real trade would be shocking and is not going to happen — but it proves Maye is highly valued.

FAQ

Q: Is Drake Maye actually being traded?
No. The article clearly says he is not getting traded. This is just a fun "what if" idea.

Q: What is a first-round pick?
It is a team’s top choice in the NFL Draft to select a new young player. Getting six of them is a huge deal.

Q: Why is Maye worth six picks but Josh Allen is worth seven?
Allen is seen as slightly more proven, especially in playoffs. Maye is younger and cheaper, but didn’t play as well in tough postseason games.

Q: What does "salary cap" mean?
It is the maximum amount of money a team is allowed to pay all its players. Maye’s contract helps the Patriots manage that limit.