When the New England Patriots chose Drake Maye third overall in the NFL Draft, many hoped the former North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback would start from Day One.
After an impressive preseason in which he clearly outplayed free agent signee Jacoby Brissett, the possibility of Maye starting became that much more likely.
New England head coach Jerod Mayo decided to roll with the experienced Brissett, though, giving Maye some needed time to learn and develop. We’ve seen other situations where teams try to rush rookies in too quickly, most notably the Carolina Panthers with Bryce Young – and Mayo doesn’t want that for his young guy,
There is an increasing likelihood that Maye starts sooner than expected, though, with Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer suggesting later in 2024.
“Maye’s progress has gotten to the point where the expectation is he’ll earn his way onto the field relatively soon, with the one caveat being that the Patriots’ offense will have to show (as it did against the Cincinnati Bengals, then didn’t against the Jets) that it can play the way it needs to in order to support a rookie quarterback,” Breer wrote.
Technically, Maye did see the field in a blowout loss to the Jets last Sunday, completing 4-of-8 passes for 22 yards. In this case, Breer is referring to Maye starting and/or seeing extended reserve action.