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Drake Maye takes the lead in the New England Patriots’ QB competition.
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The competition for the quarterback position at the New England Patriots has taken a turn: The presumed starter Jacoby Brissett falls behind the fast-rising rookie Drake Maye.
Brissett “has been declining over the last week since the preseason began,” Patriots.com editor Evan Lazar said. Brissett’s drop in performance coincided with when Maye began to show why the Pats selected him with the third pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Maye impressed in Week 2’s preseason game, a 14-13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday, August 15. The performance offered a glimpse into what New England’s offense will ultimately look like with Maye as the starter.
Until then, Brissett is supposed to serve as a placeholder for an experienced quarterback. That’s the theory, at least, but further problems from Brissett could derail the plan.
This is especially true if Maye’s ongoing difficulties are offset by further improvements.
Jacoby Brissett’s numbers are moving in the wrong direction
He didn’t play much in tryouts, but Brissett still struggled to look like a starter. Lazar explained that “in two preseason games, Brissett completed just 30% of his passes (3 of 10). He posted -1.48 expected points per dropback with a -17.9 completion percentage above expectations and a ill-advised interception in the end zone that Mayo called a ‘terrible play.'”
Lazar’s reference to an interception against the Eagles and the subsequent negative reaction from head coach Jerod Mayo sums up Brissett’s problems. Ben Brown of The QB List highlighted the selection and also named former Patriots safety Devin McCourty, who pointed out that Brissett paid the price for trying to force the ball into tight coverage.
Forcing the ball could be a reflection of the pressure Brissett feels in the fight for his job. The fact that he “produced only two successful plays in his 10 preseason dropbacks with the Patriots starters doesn’t exactly help the 31-year-old. After a solid start to practice with protective gear, training sessions unfortunately didn’t look much better for Brissett. At Tuesday’s joint practice, he struggled with his accuracy and missed an open touchdown for TE Austin Hooper and a deep in-breaker for Tyquan Thornton.”
These ongoing problems stand in sharp contrast to the recent progress Maye has made.
Drake Maye begins to fulfill the hype
The Patriots have prepared themselves to wait for Maye to take the reins at some point, but the process could be sped up if he continues to live up to expectations. Maye offered several intriguing glimpses of his potential as a playmaker against the Eagles.
He made the most of the extended playing time after a questionable performance against the Carolina Panthers in Week 1. What Maye did against Philly showed how the Pats offense will evolve with a more dynamic and versatile athlete at the most important position in football.
A broader plan became apparent when “Maye was in shotgun mode on 10 of his 11 dropbacks, six times in an empty formation, with his only pass under the center being a bootleg play. Van Pelt called routes that led to the middle of the field or deep shots to isolated outside receivers. Maye took advantage of run-pass options and scored a four-yard touchdown against a zone-read keeper.”
Mayes’ best plays were highlighted by Brian Baldinger of the NFL Network.
It’s been ages since the Patriots’ passing game expanded the field beyond the numbers. Or included moveable pockets.
Perhaps the biggest difficulty was the RPOs mentioned by Lazar. An option-based game helped rookie Mac Jones become a Pro Bowler in 2021.
Unfortunately, that brief highlight was all she contributed to Jones’ time in the Patriots uniform. Still, it showed how a more creative offense can play to the strengths of an unorthodox playmaker.
Maye is an off-script quarterback whose raw physical ability can produce the big plays the Patriots have lacked for too long. Having Maye do those things sooner rather than later is a game-changer, but sticking with a game manager like Brissett is too cautious.
James Dudko covers the New York Giants, Washington Commanders, New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens for Heavy.com. He has covered the NFL and world football since 2011 and has worked for FanSided, Prime Time Sports Talk and Bleacher Report before joining Heavy in 2021. More about James Dudko
