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Patriots quarterback Drake Maye
Amid a largely lackluster training camp and preseason for the Patriots, the latest controversy rocking the team is actually a pretty good thing. Rookie Drake Maye, the No. 3 pick in the 2024 draft and the undisputed future of the franchise, closed out the preseason with such a strong performance against Washington that there’s now enough reason to make him the starter from the beginning.
That wasn’t the Patriots’ plan, of course. The idea with Maye was always to have him sit behind veteran Jacoby Brissett for at least half a season or so and then have Maye show up in the latter part of the year to give him some experience to take into 2025.
But Maye’s performance against the Commanders, in which he completed 13 of 20 passes for 126 yards, including a cool 88-yard touchdown run, seems to show he’s made enough progress to get on the field sooner rather than later. The fact that Brissett has also struggled has only reinforced the notion that this should be Maye’s job.
While there is still debate about whether it would be better for Maye to wait, ESPN analyst and seven-year NFL veteran Louis Riddick had a very clear opinion.
“Start. Drake. Maye,” Riddick continued Twitter/X on Sunday evening.
Drake Maye “Our second best quarterback”: Jerod Mayo
Patriots coach Jerod Mayo hasn’t been entirely clear about his intentions at the position. The Patriots still have Brissett as the starter, and even though Brissett injured his shoulder on Sunday and was out for one series, Mayo said that was always the plan. He also said he would decide on a starter by Monday night, but made it clear what he was leaning toward.
“I would love to sit here and say with 100 percent certainty that he is the second-best quarterback on our roster right now,” Mayo said of Maye.
Mayo is wrong, of course. Maye is the best quarterback on the roster. The problem, however, is that the Patriots’ offensive line is one of the worst in the league, if not the worst. The real problem with Maye’s starting lineup is not so much that Brissett is the better quarterback, but that he is better prepared for the load the O-line is sure to put him under.
At 21, Maye carries the burden of the organization and the Patriots want to provide him and his future with as much stability and security as possible.
The Patriots could have the worst squad in the NFL
Former Patriots star offensive lineman Damien Woody also weighed in on the matter, saying he could envision Maye starting in Week 1.
“You see him getting better and better,” Woody said Monday on ESPN’s “Unsportsmanlike.” “Would it shock me if Drake Maye started in Week 1? It wouldn’t shock me. Watch the Patriots this preseason. The kid has gotten better.”
He acknowledged, however, that Maye’s team may not be good enough to justify his start. That starts with the offensive line, but also includes a questionable group of receivers built around Kendrick Bourne and KJ Osborn, with second-year player Pop Douglas and a room full of question marks.
Many a highly drafted quarterback has ended up in the dustbin of NFL history, not because he lacked talent, but because he was forced into a difficult situation.
“I would say more quarterbacks are broken by the broken culture of their organization when they come to the National Football League – it’s not that these guys can’t play, it’s that the organizations are doing them a disservice by putting them in before they’re ready to play,” Woody said. “And I think that’s what you have to weigh with Drake Maye. Do you want to put him in a situation where you’re looking at this New England roster, which is a very flawed roster?”
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter who covers the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has been writing for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including Fun City, Before Wrigley become Wrigley and Facing Michael Jordan. More about Sean Deveney
