Sportsbook Insiders: Drake Maye's Receiving a Ton of Action in NFL MVP Market; Latest Odds Movement

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye got off to a terrible start in the 2026 season, but he’s since flipped the script, turning into two strong games in wins over Buffalo and Las Vegas.

Maye and the Patriots are 3-2 through five weeks, and they’re heavily favored at home in Week 6 against the New York Jets. Since New England currently holds the tiebreaker over Buffalo, there is a real path for this team to win the AFC East for the second straight season.

So, Sports Illustrated spoke to several oddsmakers get the pulse on the NFL MVP race, which has seen Maye jump from as low as +10000 all the way to +1700 ahead of Week 6.

NFL MVP Odds

Josh Allen: +250
Brock Purdy: +300
Patrick Mahomes: +650
Trevor Lawrence: +750
Joe Burrow: +950
Lamar Jackson: +1100
Drake Maye: +1700
Dak Prescott: +2000
Matthew Stafford: +2800
Jared Goff: +4000
Jahmyr Gibbs: +4000
Bryce Young: +5000
Bijan Robinson: +5000
Kenneth Walker III: +5500
Jordan Love: +5500

“Maye is currently +1700 (17-1) and taking money daily,” Johnny Avello, Director of Race and Sports Operations for DraftKings Sportsbook, told Sports Illustrated. “He was +10000 (100-1) before defeating the Bills in Week 4 and has stayed hot. With AJ Brown set to return as soon as this week, there will only be fuel added to the fire.”

Brown has been on injured reserve since he was hurt in Week 1, and the star receiver’s return would undoubtedly boost Maye and this offense. Still, Maye has a lot to overcome after a shaky first few weeks.

The former top-three pick threw six picks over the first three weeks of the season and has seven in five games overall. He’s turned things around with seven touchdown passes in his last two games, but the interceptions still hurt his numbers a bit against other MVP contenders like Brock Purdy, Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes.

"Drake Maye's rise is a byproduct of two factors,” a FanDuel trader told Sports Illustrated. “They beat the Bills, dramatically improving their chances of winning the division and being a high seed in the AFC, which are typically pre-requisites to winning MVP. And the Patriots offense, which looked anemic for the first three weeks, has come alive, driven by Maye's performance. We have taken a lot of action on him the last two weeks as he was a popular choice for MVP preseason.”

The path to win the AFC East may be the most compelling part of Maye’s MVP argument. New England already has a road win over Buffalo, and it has gotten through some tougher games against the Bills, Seattle and Jacksonville already this season while remaining over .500.

If New England sweeps Buffalo in the season series, it would put it in a great spot to clinch the division, which would hurt Allen’s MVP case in the process. Allen is one of several players Maye is chasing at this point in the season.

Overall, the third-year quarterback has completed 65.6 percent of his passes for 1,228 yards, eight scores and seven picks in five games while rushing for 161 yards and a score.

New England hasn’t been in primetime since Week 1 – where Maye tossed three horrible second-half picks – so that may be hurting his narrative in this market.

“So, Drake Maye's really interesting,” Ty Gour, Sports Trader at Fanatics Sportsbook, told Sports Illustrated. “As far as most bet selections, he's only 11th in tickets and ninth in handle since the beginning of Week 4. That includes his last two games where he's performed a lot better, beat a huge divisional opponent in the Bills, and then five touchdowns against a Raiders team that was starting to turn some heads. So, he has played a lot better. He's done a lot to get his odds back in contention.

“But what I've found really interesting is because there's been so many good primetime performances, especially by MVP candidates like Bryce Young, Jared Goff, Josh Allen, Matt Stafford as well… It's been a really good slate of prime-time games the last two weeks, and because of that, him having both of his games at 1:00 p.m. EST just doesn't allow him to take back the narrative as much as those other guys. So it'll be really interesting to see how handle shifts once the Pats start getting more primetime games.”

Maye and the Patriots have a primetime game coming up in Week 7 on Thursday night against the Chicago Bears, and that could be a chance for the Patriots quarterback to lead his team to a 5-2 start. New England is favored by more than a touchdown to get to 4-2 in Week 6 against the Jets.

If Maye has another big game, Thursday’s primetime matchup could be a coming out party for his MVP case.

Entering Week 6, Maye (seventh in the odds) has certainly seen his stock rise more than any other player over the last two weeks in this market.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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