The New England Patriots are embarking on a new journey with rookie quarterback Drake Maye hoping to reignite the offense once again.
This situation in New England could be considered a parallel to Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers. The common denominator those two organizations have is Eliot Wolf, although it’s a little more complicated than meets the eye.
Wolf was a mainstay in the Packers’ organization for several years. He began his tenure with the organization in 2004 as a pro personnel assistant. He then managed to work his way up to director of football operations. He served in that role from 2016-2017.
Wolf was able to get a sense of how the Packers developed their players throughout the years. Green Bay was able to have a masterful succession plan of Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers at the position. Now, they have Love.
Love was drafted with the No. 26 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft, but he did not get a chance to start until the 2022 season. Now, he’s the No. 1 guy in Green Bay, while Rodgers took his talents to the New York Jets.
Still, it’s fair to say that Love had to wait his turn before he was ultimately handed the reins as a starter. There was even some apprehension about the Packers drafting him in the first round considering the team needed wide receivers at the time.
Nevertheless, the transition to starting quarterback has proven to be relatively seamless for Love.
This is a blueprint that the Patriots should follow. As of right now, Jacoby Brissett is expected to be the Week 1 starter. Brissett is an experienced veteran with 48 starts under his belt. It’s also worth noting that he has familiarity with offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt. This gives the Patriots time to ease Maye into things and not rush him, much like they rushed Mac Jones in 2021.
It would be wise to hold Maye back for a bit, at least until later in the season. The North Carolina product probably won’t sit on the bench for two years like Love did. However, New England can implement a slow developmental process rather easily, which makes sense for a future franchise quarterback.
Green Bay has shown they know how to manage quarterbacks. Wolf knows what it takes to create stability in the position. New England hasn’t had stability at the position in the post-Tom Brady era.
It’s the perfect match.
The Patriots could learn a little something from Green Bay and take their time with Maye.