How fast is Drake Maye? 40 time, fastest speed, and more to know about Patriots QB’s quickness originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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Who are the fastest players in the NFL?
The New England Patriots are back in the Super Bowl for the first time since 2018, thanks to a dramatic turnaround under head coach Mike Vrabel and second-year quarterback Drake Maye.
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Maye, who was drafted by New England with the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, has thrown for 4,394 yards with 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions this season. While he isn’t a prototypical dual-threat quarterback, he can make plays with his legs when needed.
This season has been his most successful on the ground with the Patriots. Maye has rushed for 450 yards on 103 carries with four touchdowns. Let’s take a closer look at just how fast New England’s quarterback is when he takes off.
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How fast is Drake Maye?
Maye is known as a pro-style passing quarterback, but he’s shown off his athleticism and speed at times during his career. At UNC, he rushed for 1,209 yards with 16 touchdowns over his three seasons with the Tar Heels.
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The Maye family has some serious athletic history. His father, Mark Maye, played quarterback for UNC in the 1980s, and his mother, Aimee, was a star basketball player at West Charlotte High School. Although she could have played for the Tar Heels when she was at UNC, she told The Charlotte Observer in 2017 that she chose not to. Drake Maye even played basketball in high school, and received All-District and All-Conference honors in high school. His siblings, Luke and Beau played basketball at UNC and his brother Cole played collegiate baseball for SEC powerhouse program Florida.
Maye is fast, and can take off when he needs to. In fact, during a critical first-down scramble against the Broncos, he reached a top-speed of 19.29 miles per hour, per Next Gen stats via The Boston Globe.
He also had a career-high six rushing first downs:
Drake Maye 40 time
Drake Maye did not run a 40-yard dash at neither the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine nor his Pro Day. During his draft process, one outlet cited him running a 4.60 40. Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts ran a 4.59 during his combine.
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For comparison sake, Lamar Jackson ran an unofficial time of 4.34 second 40 at Louisville’s “Speed Day,” but guys like Josh Allen ran a 4.76, and Patrick Mahomes ran a 4.80.
“For people that are from the Charlotte area, none of this is a surprise,” Maye’s longtime quarterback coach Anthony Boone said via the Boston Globe. “He’d throw the football, run around, jump over the top of somebody and catch it. When you see people do those things multiple times over and over, like, you stop doubting how athletic he really is. And when those things happen, it doesn’t surprise you to see what he’s doing now.”
MORE: How many Super Bowls have the Patriots won?
Drake Maye fastest speed
Maye’s fastest speed of his career (20.58 mph) was reached this season. But instead of on a rushing play of his own, it selflessly came while he was setting an impressive lead block for running back TreyVeon Henderson:
Maye was the Patriots’ fastest ball carrier per Next Gen Stats during New England’s 25-19 victory over New Orleans in Week 6, topping 20.07 miles per hour.
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During a regular-season game against the New York Jets during his rookie season, he reached a top-speed of 20.33 on a 17-yard rushing touchdown. It was the fastest speed by a New England signal-caller since Jacoby Brissett in 2016:
MORE:Where did Drake Maye go to college?
Who are the fastest players in the NFL?
While Maye’s top speeds are impressive, here’s a look at the fastest players in the NFL this season, via Next Gen stats:
|
Rank |
Player |
Team |
Postion |
Max Speed |
Week |
Play Type |
|
1 |
Jonathan Taylor |
IND |
RB |
22.38 |
2 |
43-yard reception |
|
2 |
Jahmyr Gibbs |
DET |
RB |
22.34 |
2 |
42-yard rush |
|
3 |
Jahmyr Gibbs |
DET |
RB |
22.23 |
7 |
78-yard rushing TD |
|
4 |
Jahmyr Gibbs |
DET |
RB |
22.17 |
12 |
69-yard rushing TD |
|
5 |
Brian Thomas Jr. |
JAX |
WR |
22.13 |
3 |
46-yard reception |
|
6 |
TreVeyon Henderson |
NE |
RB |
22.01 |
10 |
55-yard rushing TD |
|
7 |
Saquon Barkley |
PHI |
RB |
21.87 |
8 |
28-yard rush |
|
8 |
Bijan Robinson |
ATL |
RB |
21.85 |
4 |
69-yard reception |
|
9 |
Kyle Williams |
NE |
WR |
21.78 |
10 |
72-yard reception |
|
10 |
Charlie Jones |
CIN |
WR |
21.78 |
9 |
98-yard kickoff return TD |
|
11 |
Rashid Shaheed |
NO |
WR |
21.72 |
5 |
87-yard reception TD |
|
12 |
Tutu Atwell |
LAR |
WR |
21.7 |
4 |
88-yard reception TD |
|
13 |
Saquon Barkley |
PHI |
RB |
21.68 |
8 |
65-yard rushing TD |
|
14 |
Nahshon Wright |
CHI |
CB |
21.66 |
1 |
74-yard INT TD |
|
15 |
Jacory Croskey-Merritt |
WAS |
RB |
21.62 |
17 |
72-yard rushing TD |
|
16 |
Christian Watson |
GB |
WR |
21.6 |
14 |
41-yard reception TD |
|
17 |
Tyquan Thornton |
KC |
WR |
21.48 |
1 |
28-yard kickoff return |
|
18 |
Kyle Williams |
NE |
WR |
21.46 |
15 |
22-yard kickoff return |
|
19 |
Pat Surtain II |
DEN |
CB |
21.42 |
15 |
INT |
|
20 |
TreVeyon Henderson |
NE |
RB |
21.38 |
10 |
69-yard rushing TD |