Exclusive: Carl Banks Tips Drake Maye as NFL MVP Ahead of Super Bowl LX

Former New York Giants linebacker Carl Banks is extremely impressed with Drake Maye entering Super Bowl LX.

The 23-year-old quarterback may finish the season as the NFL MVP, posting one of the best seasons in recent memory.

The second-year quarterback finished the 2025 campaign as the passer rating and completion percentage leader. To top it all off, Maye finished the year with 31 touchdowns against eight interceptions to go along with 450 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. Maye's 450 rushing yards ranked fourth among all quarterbacks.

Banks, who won two Super Bowls as one of the top linebackers in the league with the Giants, said Maye is a combination of reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen, former MVP candidate Brock Purdy, with a little bit of Patrick Mahomes.

"It's interesting, if you have to look at modern day, he's probably a combination of Josh Allen, but he's just not as athletic, but he plays the game smart like Brock Purdy," Banks told SportsBoom.us. 

"He's got a little bit of that (Patrick) Mahomes in him, because he can improvise a little bit. He's kind of a combination of all three of those guys."

Maye Has Josh Allen's Arm & More Talent Than Brock Purdy

That's a lofty comparison considering all three quarterbacks are proven and considered the best passers in the league.

Mahomes has won three Super Bowls and been an MVP winner, Allen is considered the best dual-threat quarterback in the league and Purdy has played in a Super Bowl and made numerous deep playoff runs in his young career.

Banks detailed why Maye possesses talent traits that are similar to all three of the aforementioned quarterbacks.

"He's got a big arm like Josh, plays very smart, very cerebral," said Banks. 

"For a guy his age, it's kind of like a Brock Purdy with talent, not taking anything away from Brock Purdy's talent. He's got the craftiness of Patrick Mahomes, so he's kind of his own guy. But he does everything well."

Ball Security Needs to Improve

Maye has defeated three top five defensive units leading into the Super Bowl in the Denver Broncos, Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers. 

While the numbers haven't always been pretty, the bottom line is Maye is getting the job done and making the plays to secure wins. For example, it was his first down run against the Broncos that secured the victory for the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.

During this year's postseason, Maye has compensated for his lack of passing production by excelling in the run game, posting 141 rushing yards in comparison to his 533 passing yards.

One thing that Banks would like to see Maye improve is his ball security. 

The former All-Pro linebacker points towards the fact that Maye fumbles the ball a lot. He has six fumbles with three lost in this postseason.

"Just think he has to stay away from situations where he puts the ball in danger." 

"A lot of it is him. Fumbling the ball or losing the ball, it's not necessarily the interceptions, but it's ball security stuff," he concluded.