In limited appearances this preseason, rookie quarterback Drake Maye gave New England Patriots fans something they had been missing for the past few seasons.
Hope.
The third pick in the 2024 NFL Draft showed several traits that New England fans have been looking for at the position since Tom Brady left: athleticism, arm strength, creativity, subtle movement and toughness. Even though the numbers weren’t exactly spectacular – Maye completed 21 of 34 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown in his three games – the film reinforced the notion that New England may have found its next franchise quarterback.
Take, for example, this play from New England’s third and final preseason game against the Washington Commanders, a 29-yard pass to fellow rookie Ja’Lynn Polk:
This is a fairly standard flat transition concept, with Maye operating from the middle and using New England play action. After turning his back on the defense to execute the run fake—a play that gives him little time to read the defense and decipher the coverage—Maye feels pressure from the left side, climbs into the pocket, and makes a perfect throw.
Exactly what you want to see from your rookie quarterback.
Or take this completion to DeMario Douglas on third and long to move the chains:
Maye hangs in a collapsing pocket, uses his feet to create space, and then hits another crossing route for the first down.
Two plays later, he threw his first NFL touchdown pass.
But despite the hope Maye has sparked during the preseason and the qualities he has flashed in his limited appearances, New England is heading in a different direction in Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season. Head coach Jerod Mayo announced Thursday that veteran Jacoby Brissett will be their starter against the Cincinnati Bengals, while Maye will be demoted to a backup role.
This decision may be controversial, but it may be the best for Maye.
As I watched New England’s offense against Washington, especially when Maye was in the game, another name came to mind.
David Carr.
Because while Maye showed off those traits, he did so behind an offensive line that struggled to protect both him and Brissett. There were fumbled turnovers between center and quarterback, multiple hits on both passers, and Maye even completed a pass after one of his offensive players stepped on his foot and pulled off his left cleat:
Selected first overall by the Houston Texans in the 2002 NFL Draft, Carr was sacked an incredible 76 times in his rookie season, a mark that still stands as an NFL record. While that number dropped to just 15 sacks the next season — in part because Carr only played in 12 games — it rose again to 49 in 2004, the league’s highest total that season.
Because Carr spent most of his first three seasons under pressure in the pocket, he never became comfortable there. The difficulty in protecting Carr contributed in large part to the QB never being able to live up to expectations in Houston.
Back to the Patriots: While the team is in a rebuilding cycle, the glaring weakness right now is their offensive line. Dozens of New England sportswriters have called the OL a problem, and longtime Patriots reporter Tom Curran described the unit’s play as “disgraceful.” While Mayo himself called concerns about the offensive line “overblown,” he also gave this pretty blunt description of the group prior to the roster cuts:
Jerod Mayo talks about giving up the No. 3 @WEEI:
“The starting guard or starting tackle may not be on the team today.”
— Chris Mason (@ByChrisMason) 26 August 2024
New England drafted Maye not only for Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season, but hopefully for the next ten – or more – Weeks 1. Playing him in Week 1 of this season behind a unit that struggled badly and even injured Brissett early in the final preseason game against Washington is not a recipe for giving the rookie a strong foundation.
At some point, New England will want to get Maye on the field this season. After all, the main goal for this year is to approach the upcoming offseason with confidence that Maye is indeed the franchise quarterback this organization has been looking for since Brady walked off the podium after a playoff loss to the Tennessee Titans and never looked back. If the Patriots can enter next offseason with confidence in Maye, they can build around him — put their nearly $90 million in salary cap space to good use — and set themselves up for a real run next year.
However, that plan won’t work if Maye gets exhausted playing behind a leaky offensive line.
The NFL isn’t known for its patience, and part of the price of being selected third overall is that forces outside — and sometimes inside — the building want to see that player on the field. Back in New England’s first preseason game on a rainy night against the Carolina Panthers, Foxborough fans booed after Maye made a brief cameo appearance. They wanted to see more of the highly touted rookie.
But sometimes patience is a virtue.
In this case, it could deliver the best possible version of Maye.
