Rookie quarterback Drake Maye led the New England Patriots to a touchdown, his first in the NFL. The Patriots probably won’t see many touchdowns or much from Maye as the regular season begins.
New England is being cautious about their third pick. That’s in part because the infrastructure around Maye isn’t exactly conducive to the success of a rookie quarterback. Maye hasn’t started either of the two preseason games and likely won’t start in Week 1 of the regular season. There will be plenty of voices calling for him to be the starter for the season’s opening game. But the most likely outcome is that Patriots fans will have to wait, hopefully and patiently.
On Thursday night against the Philadelphia Eagles, Maye got a little more playing time than in his abbreviated season opener. Maye completed 6 of 11 passes for 47 yards in two quarters. He had a couple of nice throws and a touchdown run on a read option near the goal line.
Patriots fans are used to great quarterbacks, but not necessarily quarterbacks who can make good plays by running the ball.
Maye was good in the Patriots’ second preseason game. He looked good on some throws. He threw too high on a few, including a pass on second-and-eleven where he hesitated before releasing the ball. It was nice for Patriots fans to see him on more than a few plays. His best pass may have been an incomplete one. Early in the third quarter, he threw a long pass to rookie Javon Baker that was nearly 50 yards. He threw it with ease and it was a nice ball, but Baker just missed it on the pike catch.
The important thing was the throw itself, which was good. Maye didn’t do anything that could disappoint.
Maye was not used much in the first preseason game. He only threw three passes. Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo explained the lack of game practice with Maye by saying that he wanted the rookie to play mainly in the starting lineup. This speaks to the Patriots’ problems; they do not have enough depth to adequately support a rookie quarterback. For this reason, Jacoby Brissett is expected to begin the regular season as the starter for New England. Brissett started on Thursday night against the Eagles and played the first three series.
Maye’s first series was solid. On third and fifth, he had a nice pass on a break-in route to Baker for a first down. He made an athletic play to get the ball away under immediate pressure and completed it for a gain. On third down, later in the drive, he threw a nice deep pass, but it went through Baker’s hands on the sideline. Baker was forced out of bounds on his route anyway, so the pass wouldn’t have counted. Still, it was a good throw by the rookie. The drive ended in a field goal, which wasn’t the worst result for Maye or the Patriots.
When the Patriots began rotating offensive linemen on Maye’s next series, the plays seemed to become safer to protect Maye, with more runs, quick throws, and a block (which was perfectly timed on third-and-11 for 23 yards).
Maye started the second half. It started with a fumbled snap from the middle. He had a good deep throw to Baker that was incomplete. He had a few missed throws under pressure that hurt his stats. He took a sack on third-and-10, which must have given the Patriots a nervous moment. That was his last play of the night.
Until the Patriots decide to use Maye as a regular-season starter, it will be difficult to evaluate him. He didn’t do enough in the preseason to draw any broad conclusions. That comes later.
There’s not much for Patriots fans to be excited about this season. Brissett is a reasonably experienced bridge quarterback, but he won’t add value to the offense. He threw a terrible interception in the end zone on Thursday night and almost threw another under pressure on the next series. The offense’s performance in joint practices against the Eagles this week was reportedly pretty poor, with the Patriots allowing way too many sacks. The Patriots’ best player was probably edge defender Matthew Judon, and he was just traded to the Atlanta Falcons for a third-round pick. The Patriots are a good bet to get the first pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
But Maye provides something to look forward to this season. He will play at some point, and the Patriots will hope his confidence isn’t crushed in a terrible environment. Maye has the skills to pull the Patriots out of the doldrums at some point.
If the Patriots decide to make the move, we will see for the first time if New England has its quarterback of the future.
