How much should Drake Maye play in the Patriots’ season opener? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The New England Patriots will be unpacking their shiny new toy on Thursday night.
New England’s season opener against the Carolina Panthers at Gillette Stadium will be No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye’s first opportunity to experience a live game. Maye has had plenty of practice in training camp, but Thursday night will be an important test as he faces an NFL opponent for the first time.
But how much playing time should Maye get? Head coach Jerod Mayo said all four of New England’s quarterbacks will play against the Panthers. Veteran Jacoby Brissett is expected to start, and Maye, Bailey Zappe and Joe Milton will be used as backups. Should Maye get the majority of quarterback work on Thursday, or should the Patriots limit his workload and ease him into the game?
Mike Giardi of the Boston Sports Journal says the more Maye, the better.
“I want at least 30 snaps from Drake Maye,” Giardi said this week on Arbella Early Edition, as seen in the video player above. “Whether it goes into the second or third quarter, whatever it takes, I want him to get as many reps as possible because that’s where it’s going to get at some point, whether this year or later.
“They selected him No. 3 in the draft. I think he needs the reps.”
Our Patriots insider Phil Perry also believes Maye needs the reps, but offers an important warning: If the offensive line can’t effectively block the 21-year-old, the Patriots shouldn’t leave him on the field and risk injury.
“It’s shaping up to be a really fascinating decision in the game for Jerod Mayo,” Perry said. “It’s not about timeout strategy or philosophy or game plan or anything like that. It’s about, ‘Can they protect Drake Maye?’ Because you can’t put him on the field for 30 to 40 snaps on Thursday night – as much as we’d all like to see him, myself included – if they can’t block him. It’s not worth it.
“The second line of attack, let alone the third, had all kinds of trouble keeping people away from him. So if that’s the case on Thursday, you’re going to have to pull the ripcord to get Zappe or Joe Milton in there.”
The Patriots are particularly weak at the offensive tackle position, where Chukwuma Okorafor, Calvin Anderson, Vederian Lowe, recently signed Kellen Diesch and rookies Caedan Wallace and Zuri Henry have all been used during practice. Maye should obviously get used to NFL pass rushes, but if he faces constant pressure from Carolina’s defensive front, that “experience” may not be worth the risk of injury.
One solution, supported by Patriots insider Tom E. Curran, is to add Maye to the starting offensive line and either take Brissett out of the game early or not let him play at all.
“I don’t think Jacoby Brissett needs to go on the field,” Curran said. “He probably got 30 percent more work (during training camp) than Drake Maye, and he was very efficient with the work he got. He worked with better players.”
“If you’re going to get someone on the first team offensive line playing time, I think Drake Maye should start there because, as (Phil Perry) pointed out, he just doesn’t have enough of it.”
Watch the full discussion in the video player above.
