00:00In 2024's rookie season, the New England Patriots quarterback Drake made it his level best to transcend an offense of even little to no help.
00:06The first-year numbers were not great, 225 for 338, with 2,276 yards, 15 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, and a pass rating of 88.1, but you had to take those numbers in context.
00:20The 2024 Patriots ranked 28th in offensive DVOA. May's primary targets were Hunter Henry, Demario Douglas, and Keyshawn Booty.
00:27No disrespect to those guys, it's not exactly a murderer's row. May was pressured on 37.4% of his dropbacks to hang a terrible offensive line, and offensive coordinator Alexander Pelt wasn't exactly dialing things up to the authority.
00:39What a difference a year makes. The 2025 Patriots must be taken seriously after their 23-20 Sunday night win over the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, they took them to 3-2 on the season.
00:49That's already one short of their 2023 and 2024 win totals, and May has been a different quarterback under new head coach Mike Grable and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, back for his third stint as New England's offensive coordinator.
01:03In five games, May has completed 113 of 153 passes for 1,261 yards, 7 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, and a pass rating of 107.8.
01:11His EPA per dropback of plus 0.20 ranked 6th in the NFL, quite an uptip from the minus 0.07 EPA per dropback last season that ranked 27th.
01:23May has been pressured on just 32.9% of his dropbacks, but it's not as if he's just chucking the ball quickly to avoid that pressure.
01:30Against the Bills, per ESPN Research, May completed 6 of 7 passes on throws of at least 15 yards downfield for 129 total yards.
01:39Those are career highs for completions and yards on those deeper throws.
01:43May also now has veteran receiver Stefan Diggs, who is absolutely thriving in this offense.
01:48Diggs, who played for the Bills from 2020 through 2023, was obviously comfortable in his old environment because he went off with 10 catches on 12 targets for 146 yards, and his connection with May is obvious.
01:59Let's look at two of Diggs' catches that really encapsulate this connection.
02:04With 6.28 left in the third quarter, and the Bills up 10-6, May took the snap on 2nd and 9 from the Buffalo 36-yard line and faced quick pressure from edge rusher Joey Bosa, linebacker Shaq Thompson, and cornerback Christian Benford on an overload to that side.
02:19May rolled to his right, and Diggs knew exactly what to do on that scramble drill.
02:22He first stopped his route to give May a good look, and then rolled downfield with the knowledge that his quarterback had the arm to throw the ball 32 yards downfield on the move.
02:31May repaid Diggs' faith with a guided missile to the Buffalo 4-yard line that set up Ramondre Stevenson's rushing touchdown.
02:37Then, with 2.12 left in the game, May outdid himself.
02:44We've all seen this one.
02:45The Bills had just tied the game at 20, and the Patriots had 1st and 10 at their own 29-yard line.
02:50May was pressured right away by defensive lineman Digquan Jones, and he once again rolled to his right.
02:54But this time, May could not outrun his potential captor.
02:58With the 6'4", 320-pound Jones hanging all over him, May somehow got the pass to Diggs off for a 12-yard dump-off, another 1st down, and a step forward on the drive that ended with an Andre Borgales 52-yard game-winning field goal.
03:11When he came out of North Carolina in the 2024 draft, May had a lot of comparisons to Josh Allen, the other starting quarterback on the field.
03:18The 6'4", 230-pound May has the toughness and athleticism to make those comparisons sensible, but just as Allen had to when he came out of Wyoming in 2018, May needed to take a step forward to make that athleticism come alive.
03:32It's safe to say that this season, and especially in this Bills game, Drake May has done just that.
03:37He's a primary reason these Patriots, who were thought to be in pure rebuilding mode this season, may well be surprise contenders.
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