Drake Maye can definitely start for the Patriots. But should he?

The New England Patriots got their man. After the failure of experiments with Mac Jones (and to a lesser extent Bailey Zappe), they desperately needed a quarterback to usher in the post-Bill Belichick era. They found one in Drake Maye, the North Carolina star who slipped to third place in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Maye has joined former and current Patriot Jacoby Brissett on the roster, giving New England a veteran mentor and potentially valuable backup passer to start the season. But despite a relatively slow start, it’s clear that Maye has more to offer than the migrant worker he’s been competing with for assignments.

He certainly has a lot of issues to solve, but his athleticism and ability to make big strides down low create a sense of optimism that the Pats have lacked over the past two seasons.

And that’s why he may not be in New England’s starting lineup starting in 2024.

The 2024 Patriots are just bad enough to irreparably damage Drake Maye

New England is in the midst of a laborious rebuild. The franchise has a handful of young building blocks but lacks the playmakers or depth to truly compete this fall. Maye could change that, but not alone.

Unfortunately, this preseason has made it clear to him that he will not have the blocking support he needs.

While that’s not Maye behind center, it’s a solid summary of the Patriots’ offensive line right now. Head coach Jerod Mayo moved Mike Onwenu from his best position (guard) to the tackle position to account for the fact that his other edge protectors – Chukwuma Okorafor (drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers last year), Caedan Wallace (third-round rookie) and Vederian Lowe (traded in the sixth round from the Minnesota Vikings in 2022) – are disappointing in their own ways.

In three preseason games, New England’s quarterbacks have been sacked or hit 18 times on 109 dropbacks, which says nothing about an offensive line that’s constantly getting shredded by opponents’ second and third-string defenders. Mayo hasn’t thrown anyone under the bus, but when things are going well, they don’t show enthusiasm for other teams’ cutdown-day snippets, either.

Promising quarterbacks were knocked out by constant pressure in their rookie years. This reverse diamond process turned guys like David Carr (NFL record 76 sacks as a rookie) and Tim Couch (56 sacks as a rookie) into cash despite high draft status. Their teams combined for just one playoff appearance (a loss to the Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card) in the five years after they were the first to draft a passer.

Need a more recent example? Justin Fields’ career sack rate of 12.4 percent is partly his fault, as he likes to get into sticky situations, but it’s also a result of the poor offensive line his first two seasons. Now he’s tasked with backing up a broken Russell Wilson in Pittsburgh. Before Blake Bortles was a punchline from The Good Place, he was a third overall pick who led the league in sacks in his first two seasons as a pro. The learning curve is tough enough without having to focus on footwork or running routes while 300-pound men are relentlessly coming at you.

But Maye could turn that hay into gold if he can stay upright

The counter to that argument is that, aside from his footwork issues, Maye has made progress by applying pressure. Against Washington, he found space to move up in the pocket and either make good throws downfield or escape and use his above-average speed to gain extra yards.

It’s only the preseason, but he’s managed to bolster a young receiver corps at times — albeit against replacement defenses. The Patriots will rely heavily on wideouts like Demario Douglas and Ja’Lynn Polk this season, especially with veterans like Kendrick Bourne and Hunter Henry getting injured early on. It’s not ideal — this team could really, really use an established veteran to bolster its young quarterback, like Stefon Diggs on the Buffalo Bills or DeAndre Hopkins on the Arizona Cardinals — but if you look closely, you can see how it works.

Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt has also made it a goal to slowly introduce his rookie quarterback. This development can be seen in the preseason, when Maye allowed a number of short throws at the beginning before being given the green light to take more risks and make bigger throws (and runs) as the test season progressed.

That’s Mayo’s problem. Maye’s development has been steady. His ability to convert shots into baskets or gain crucial yards is a trait that has clearly been lacking in the Patriots’ last three seasons. The potential of a franchise quarterback is there, even if it’s more theoretical than actual at the moment.

A steady stream of blitzes and sacks can destroy that theory. It could also create the game experience and rapport with his wideouts that will turn around a turnaround in Foxborough faster than anyone expected. With the preseason behind us, Mayo still seems undecided but may be leaning toward his rookie gunslinger.

Luckily for Mayo, he’s a first-year head coach who is highly regarded by the organization he once played for. He’ll have the team’s support, even if his first year is tough. But no decision will be more important in his young coaching career than when Maye steps on the field.

If you do it right, the Patriots rebuild will be underway. If you do it wrong, then, well… we talked about those Browns and Texans teams of the late ’90s, right?

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Drake Maye can definitely start for the Patriots. But should he?