FOXBORO, Massachusetts – Midway through the third quarter of the New England Patriots’ second preseason game last week against the Philadelphia Eagles, rookie quarterback Drake Maye offered exactly what the team was looking for: hope.
He took a shotgun snap and looked to his left, eyes moving the safety away from his deep target. He slid into the pocket with perfect footwork, kept his eyes downfield, felt the pressure around him, and then threw a perfectly thrown 51-yard pass into the outstretched arms of rookie receiver Javon Baker.
It didn’t really matter that the pass was incomplete. This is the preseason. What matters is that Maye is progressing and looks like the type of quarterback the Patriots can build a team around.
With his best performance since joining the Patriots, he brought the question of whether he should play this season back into the center of discussion.
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The Patriots’ long-held plan was to take Maye slowly, which is why he didn’t play with the regulars in training camp. But his play compels him to do so, and he faces one big final audition to earn a starting spot in the final preseason game next weekend. I estimate that the experienced Jacoby Brissett still has a better than 50 percent chance of starting in Week 1.
But today we want to look at three main reasons why the Patriots could start Maye.
He is better on schedule than Brissett
Maye still has a long way to go to catch up to Brissett in terms of understanding this offense (which Brissett has played in before) and reading the defense. In that regard, Brissett wins hands down.
But where Maye impresses more than Brissett is what he can do outside of the game plan. That’s very important to the team considering how the roster is constructed. The offensive line is a weakness. Not many receivers can get open consistently, so the quarterback has to be able to buy time and restart the pocket occasionally.
Maye can do that. His athleticism was evident in Thursday’s preseason game as he hurried and bought time for receivers.
This also extends to How he passes the ball. Given the situation on the offensive line, the Patriots’ quarterback will likely be under pressure quite a bit. He needs to be able to find an answer in difficult situations. One of Maye’s strengths throughout camp has been completing passes with different arm angles in crowded pockets. He has an impressive ability to work the ball around pressing defensive linemen. That could be especially useful this season.
He opens the playbook
Brissett fits the fundamentals of this playbook very well. He’s good at bootlegs. He’s smart. He makes the right checks. He gets the run game going with the right play. He can throw the ball accurately and is historically excellent at avoiding interceptions. He’s probably better than Maye at all of those things.
But the Patriots added a few things to Alex Van Pelt’s scheme for Thursday’s game that better suited the rookie. They played a run-pass option. They had Maye in shotgun mode more often. They called for a zone read inside the 5-yard line and incorporated the quarterback’s running game.
First @NFL TD 👏@DrakeMaye2 | #NEPats
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— New England Patriots (@Patriots) 16 August 2024
Those are all areas where Maye is stronger than Brissett. Then we come to the deep pass attack. Brissett pushes the ball further back than people realize, and his arm has been better than expected during training camp. When he was last a starter (for 11 games in 2022), Brissett ranked seventh in the NFL in air yards per throw, with his passes averaging 7.7 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.
But he doesn’t have Maye’s arm strength and can’t consistently make long throws like Maye. For an offense that ranked last in the league in explosive plays last season and is looking to run a lot this season, the Patriots need the opportunity to make big plays that Maye provides.
Let it develop!
This is more open-ended and you can certainly argue it both ways. There are many examples of rookie quarterbacks who found success because they played the same, and there are many who benefited from being on the bench.
But if we’re being honest, part of the argument for letting Maye play from the start is that he can learn on the fly. He’s not going to be perfect. There are going to be obstacles, especially with this O-line and this group of receivers. But, you could argue, CJ Stroud immediately took over with disappointing weapons in Houston last year and his play has taken them to a higher level.
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Diploma
There are several downsides to having Maye in the starting lineup from the beginning of the season. The Patriots’ schedule is brutal in the first four weeks, with road games against two of the league’s best defenses (the San Francisco 49ers and New York Jets). If he plays, he’ll take some hits behind that offensive line (like the sack he took at the end of the third quarter on Thursday). Weapons won’t always take advantage of his skills (like Baker’s dropped deep ball). All of that could hurt his confidence.
But against the Eagles, Maye showed some of the positive signs the Patriots were expecting and give hope for the future. A decision on who will be the Patriots’ starter will likely not be made until after Sunday’s final test game in Washington.
Brissett is still expected to be the starter in Week 1, but he will have less room to play. If the first four games don’t go well, Maye may get his chance. Whatever the timing, Maye’s play in the preseason has sparked optimism for what could happen after a quarterback change.
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(Photo: Brian Fluharty / USA Today)
