FOXBORO – Patriots vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf seems less worried about his roster than certain segments of the fan base and media.
Wolf was asked directly if he felt the Patriots could support any quarterback with the players they currently have.
“Yes,” said Wolf.
This includes newcomer Drake Maye.
“We’re concerned about every position. We’re always trying to improve and do things well, so whoever the quarterback is – it’s not like Jacoby (Brissett) is the quarterback, we just want to throw him to the wolves. So we’re excited about our offensive line group. We’re still working on finding the right combination and I think we have all the tools to be competitive.”
Maye did not participate in competitive drills with the first-team offensive line during the first three weeks of training camp, playing behind Brissett, but he did complete some of his preseason workouts with starting linemen.
The freshman shone in Thursday’s preseason game against the Eagles, completing 6 of 11 throws and scoring a rushing touchdown.
“It was nice to see him come in the other night. It was really nice to see how calm and composed he was. He got head-butted by Nolan Smith once and took good advantage of that,” Wolf said, referring to a penalty for “unnecessary force against the passer.” “But he’s steadily improved. He’s put his head down and worked. He’s a great teammate and we’re excited to see where he goes.”
Wolf, however, would not say when he thinks Maye will be ready to start. Head coach Jerod Mayo said Friday that the quarterback competition between Maye and Brissett is still ongoing.
However, it didn’t look like there was a real fight going on in the camp.
“We’ll see. He didn’t have many snaps again in the first game. He did pretty well on his snaps the other day,” Wolf said. “It’s about building on those successes and seeing where we go.”
One of the things Wolf highlighted about Maye’s performance on Thursday was that the 2024 third-round pick simply “played ball” instead of thinking about “coaching points” and “trying to do everything perfectly.”
“Drake is very conscientious,” Wolf said.
Brissett is the safer option at quarterback, but Maye would offer the team more potential and higher performance. Texans quarterback CJ Stroud started as a rookie last season starting in Week 1 and led his team to a 9-6 record in 15 starts.
Wolf was asked if Stroud’s success made it difficult to be patient with a top talent like Maye.
“When you look at the whole thing, CJ Stroud was the anomaly in that regard,” Wolf said. “Again, it’s not about one person or one player. It’s about where the offense is, where Jacoby is and where the team is. We’re just focused on that.”
