New England Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett is having a solid training camp and is slowly pulling ahead in the quarterback competition. Rookie Drake Maye has a lot of potential, but it’s clear Brissett is the top quarterback on the roster for now.
To be fair, Maye has been working with the second-team offensive line unit. Nevertheless, Brissett was sharp at Monday’s practice in particular, going 8-of-9 in 11-on-11s and 4-of-6 in 7-on-7s.
Meanwhile, Maye went 1-of-5 in 11-on-11s and 2-of-6 with an interception in 7-on-7s. He bounced back well in Tuesday’s practice, but it’s clear that the rookie still has a lot of work to do. It’s expected considering he’s only 21 years old and still developing his game at the next level.
When breaking down Maye’s early struggles, Pro Football Network’s Dakota Randall wrote:
Maye shows flashes of his immense talent. But he also rushes throws, is spotty with his accuracy, and makes too many pre-snap penalties. There’s no reason for Patriots fans to panic, as Maye is enduring typical rookie struggles. Nevertheless, it’s getting harder and harder to envision him as the Week 1 starter.
This isn’t necessarily saying that Maye is having a bad camp or that he will struggle throughout the remainder of it. Rather, it establishes the pecking order of things.
Maye still needs time to develop. This is exactly why the Patriots signed Brissett. They knew they needed a bridge quarterback and were anticipating drafting a rookie. Now, they have to go through the natural progression of rookie growing pains.
Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt hinted early on that Brissett would be the Week 1 starter. That looks to be the case right now. It will be fascinating to see how the rest of the quarterback competition plays out.
At the very least, the Patriots have a polished veteran they can fall back on. That’s more than they could say a year ago.