Despite missing the team's preseason finale with a knee injury, Maroney played in the team's regular season opener and rushed for 86 yards in his Patriots debut. In Week 4, Maroney ran for 125 yards and two touchdowns (of 11 and 25 yards) on 15 carries against the Cincinnati Bengals, a performance that earned him both FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week and Diet Pepsi Rookie NFL Player of the Week honors. In Week 7 against the Buffalo Bills, he was voted AFC Special Teams Player of the Week after a 74-yard kickoff return, while in Week 8 he had a 77-yard kickoff return against the Minnesota Vikings. These two were the two longest non-touchdown returns of the season outside of Antonio Cromartie's 91-yard kickoff return against the Oakland Raiders, and they gave Maroney the longest kickoff return average among all NFL players; he finished 2006 with 783 kick return yards.