It's entirely plausible, and I think the only reason folks might be skeptical is that we're simply not used to regular updates after being on Intel for years.
From a value perspective, there's no question that Apple doesn't need to replace M1 Pro/Max since they're already such good SoCs. But what does come into play is supply and demand.
Apple orders considerably more M1/2 vanilla chips than the Pro/Max variants, because more devices use them and said devices are more popular. This means that Apple doesn't need to commit to larger orders for the Pro/Max and therefore can switch it up more frequently (Note how the Pro/Max are also rumoured to be on 3nm).
But this doesn't take into account a couple of other things; that Apple has over the past three years been a lot more aggressive on releasing updates for their pro devices, and that if Apple does intend to release the new Mac Pro within the transition timeframe set out (though to be clear, Tim Cook said they "expect", not "we will"), that it would make sense for them to announce the M2 Pro and Max chips prior to whatever variant the Mac Pro has.
I could be entirely wrong, but just my thoughts.