The New England Patriots took a cautious approach with rookie quarterback Drake Maye during preseason, limiting the organization’s third draft pick in this year’s NFL Draft to three snaps against the Carolina Panthers.
Current Boston College Eagles head coach Bill O’Brien, who served as New England’s offensive coordinator and quarterback coach last season, doesn’t necessarily agree with Maye’s approach. In fact, O’Brien feels the Patriots are not doing the North Carolina product justice, as the 54-year-old believes there is only one true way to develop an inexperienced quarterback in his first NFL season.
“I’ll be quite honest, preseason games don’t really mean much,” O’Brien said during an appearance on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.” “The reason I say that is because both sides of the ball don’t really do much in preseason. … For that reason alone, I think you should probably try to get a rookie quarterback some reps because you’re playing pretty boring on offense and defense.”
O’Brien added: “I don’t think you can learn anything other than actually doing it. I don’t think you learn by standing next to the coach on the sidelines. I think you actually learn by going out there and experiencing it and dealing with the pressure and dealing with the different things that go into preparing for a game.”
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Considering how Patriots coach Jerod Mayo used Maye in Thursday night’s postgame loss to the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium, New England may have taken O’Brien’s advice into account from afar. Maye ran for his first touchdown in a Patriots uniform, completing 6 of 11 passes for 47 yards while running four series in the 14-13 loss to Philadelphia – a performance that impressed Mayo.
Considering what former quarterback Mac Jones went through in his final season with the Patriots, it’s unlikely Maye will be thrown in at the deep end unless the Patriots believe the 21-year-old is ready. Mayo has already made it clear that New England’s “under construction” offensive line – a major weakness of last season’s 4-13 team – was a factor in Maye’s playing time against the Panthers.
