{"id":110920,"date":"2025-10-22T08:15:05","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T08:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=110920"},"modified":"2025-10-22T08:15:05","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T08:15:05","slug":"qb-controversy-erupts-cam-newton-sparks-debate-across-the-league-after-claiming-drake-maye-isnt-a-top-five-nfl-quarterback-fans-are-split-between-disbelief-and-agreement-and-the-tension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=110920","title":{"rendered":"QB CONTROVERSY ERUPTS: Cam Newton sparks debate across the league after claiming Drake Maye isn\u2019t a top-five NFL quarterback, fans are split between disbelief and agreement, and the tension\u2019s heating up as the rookie hype meets veteran skepticism head-on\u2026 ll"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<nav aria-label=\"articleLabel\">\n<ol id=\"articleLabel__list\">\n<li id=\"articleLabel__listItem\">Patriots<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/nav>\n<ul>\n<li><time datetime=\"2025-10-21176105936100015:09:21\">Published: Oct. 21, 2025, 3:09 p.m.<\/time><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\">\n<article id=\"arc-OCZUC3O2V5ED7KC4LJSZYI56DI\" data-type=\"article\">\n<div>\n<figure>\n<div>\n<div><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.masslive.com\/resizer\/v2\/HYRYIO2KINELJKUXJS5A3F43OE.jpg?auth=3f334b0c49214c474670225f1a4168bbb81a4eaffa8575aa1dc6572c6d463019&amp;width=500&amp;smart=true&amp;quality=90 500w\" media=\"(max-width: 500px)\" sizes=\"100vw\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.masslive.com\/resizer\/v2\/HYRYIO2KINELJKUXJS5A3F43OE.jpg?auth=3f334b0c49214c474670225f1a4168bbb81a4eaffa8575aa1dc6572c6d463019&amp;width=800&amp;smart=true&amp;quality=90 800w\" media=\"(max-width: 800px)\" sizes=\"80vw\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.masslive.com\/resizer\/v2\/HYRYIO2KINELJKUXJS5A3F43OE.jpg?auth=3f334b0c49214c474670225f1a4168bbb81a4eaffa8575aa1dc6572c6d463019&amp;width=1280&amp;smart=true&amp;quality=90 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, (max-width: 800px) 80vw, 60vw\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masslive.com\/resizer\/v2\/HYRYIO2KINELJKUXJS5A3F43OE.jpg?auth=3f334b0c49214c474670225f1a4168bbb81a4eaffa8575aa1dc6572c6d463019&amp;width=1280&amp;smart=true&amp;quality=90\" alt=\"Cam Newton doesn\u2019t believe Drake Maye is top-five NFL QB\" \/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. (AP Photo\/Stew Milne)AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p id=\"HRNRYV5HXNHKRJSMZ2KU2FY3ZM\">Drake Maye leading the Patriots to a 5-2 record to start the 2025 season has put him in the MVP conversation. The Patriots quarterback\u2019s growth has been on display through the first seven games between his 14 touchdowns to two interceptions and his overall leadership.<\/p>\n<p id=\"ZNK4XJLWVBBJ3JLRV74UUYJMKQ\">Maye also sits in the top 10 in passing yards (1,744), completion percentage (75.2%), yards per attempt (8.6) and passer rating (116.4), while he continues to put his name into the franchise history books surpassing names like Tom Brady.<\/p>\n<p id=\"LCKBPXABGJH7TAB23H56XSHV5A\">What he\u2019s done up until this point has former Patriots offensive lineman Damien Woody believing Maye is a top-five quarterback in the NFL. But another former Patriots player isn\u2019t so quick to agree.<\/p>\n<p id=\"ZL63T5CLXFD7NIOIB544XKXTJU\">\u201cYou\u2019re tripping, son,\u201d Cam Newton told Woody on \u201cFirst Take.\u201d \u201cIs he playing good football? Yes, he definitely is. But top five in the NFL? That\u2019s a little angry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"APAXYZXWUVGORLZYLABTUXF7HA\">Newton went on to explain his reasoning, noting it was more about the competition Maye and the Patriots have faced through seven weeks rather than Maye\u2019s performance on the field.<\/p>\n<p id=\"4WGC4WC7MRC2PGBYMDFOU3WLLI\">\u201cNothing against Drake Maye, because I\u2019m a fan. If I\u2019ve never been a fan of any young quarterback, he\u2019s my favorite. But I don\u2019t think he\u2019s reached the limit where, \u2018now this is a person that you really have to consider in the top-five.,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cThese performances, if we have to state the obvious, came by way of the Tennessee Titans.<\/p>\n<p id=\"J3VU3CHTXFARFNKR5FYHKLF5AU\">\u201cAnd the game that was really impressive was when he played against Buffalo,\u201d Newton continued. \u201cAnd that\u2019s not to discredit anything that he\u2019s doing. I\u2019m just saying for him to get labeled a top-five quarterback, he has to do it versus well and capable competition on a consistent basis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"FXE26R4ZJVA6FNVJNJ4UREPPJA\">Maye went 21-of-23 for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Week 7 win over the Titans. He also added 62 yards on the ground with eight carries, and didn\u2019t turn the ball over. Maye also set a new franchise record for the highest single-game completion percentage \u2014 with a minimum of 20 passes \u2014 by completing 91.3% of his passes.<\/p>\n<p id=\"GDVHDVVFR5HHHA2W7B6W5JXYLI\">The QB threw for at least 200 yards in New England\u2019s last three games and hasn\u2019t thrown an interception since Week 3.<\/p>\n<p id=\"FVZN7RJGPBHOHD5ACEKYRK43WA\">There is still a lot of football left to be played for Newton to consider Maye in his top five quarterbacks. If he wants to see the 23-year-old continue his success against \u201cwell and capable competition,\u201d Week 10 might be his best bet when New England plays the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Before thenn, the Patriots host the Cleveland Browns in Week 8 before welcoming the Atlanta Falcons to Gillette Stadium in Week 9.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cam Newton isn&#8217;t convinced Drake Maye is a top-five quarterback in the NFL at this time. But it&#8217;s not because of his play on the field.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":110921,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-110920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>QB CONTROVERSY ERUPTS: Cam Newton sparks debate across the league after claiming Drake Maye isn\u2019t a top-five NFL quarterback, fans are split between disbelief and agreement, and the tension\u2019s heating up as the rookie hype meets veteran skepticism head-on\u2026 ll - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=110920\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"QB CONTROVERSY ERUPTS: Cam Newton sparks debate across the league after claiming Drake Maye isn\u2019t a top-five NFL quarterback, fans are split between disbelief and agreement, and the tension\u2019s heating up as the rookie hype meets veteran skepticism head-on\u2026 ll - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cam Newton isn&#039;t convinced Drake Maye is a top-five quarterback in the NFL at this time. 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