Drake Maye may not be the starter for quite some time with the New England Patriots. While Maye was considered by many analysts to be one of the best quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft, however, his performance at practice so far has been rough to say the least.
Maye is a very young prospect and while some think they should start him as quick as possible, it seems like the Patriots have him as their QB3 at the moment.
Drake Maye Has Been Having A Rough Start To Practice So Far
While head coach Jerod Mayo has already been quoted talking about Maye needing a lot of work to do, it appears that that sentiment is still very much in play. Maye threw his two interceptions at practice on Tuesday with the team.
Per the 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Alex Barth, the second of the two interceptions was when Maye was targeting new running back Antonio Gibson. It was reported earlier last week that veteran Jacoby Brissett has been the most impressive quarterback at practice so far. Per Chad Graff of The Athletic, Brissett has been the clear No. 1 QB at practice:
“Maybe this is obvious. But veteran Jacoby Brissett, who spent a year running Alex Van Pelt’s offense with the Cleveland Browns, is definitely ahead of the other quarterbacks. He runs the offense smoothly and is smart about distributing the ball.”
“Brissett has so far gotten all of the No. 1 QB reps in practices the media has viewed. It’s also clear the other quarterbacks look to Brissett for advice and tips on this offense. Bailey Zappe called Brissett, 31, an “old head” and said he’s bugged Brissett with numerous questions.”
The interception that Maye threw was clearly a bad one.
When Will Drake Maye Take Over As The Starter
The interceptions that Maye through reportedly had many of the coaching staff upset with the young prospect. The first of the two was reportedly not as bad after Maye overthrew receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. Kyle Dugger, a pretty solid defender, went and grabbed the interception.
The Patriots defense is not one to sneeze at, so part of it is Maye looking rough and part is due to the defense being quite special. The team is looking to improve on their awful record from last season, which was one of the worst record this team has had in decades.
The team’s offense was at the very bottom of the NFL last season, and new head coach Mayo and GM Elliot Wolf knew they needed to draft heavily on the offensive side of the ball to start fixing some things. The team is certainly focused on improving the offense as they already have a very solid defense.
Maye has not been confirmed as a starter, or even the second string just yet, and most reporters around the team see Brissett as the week 1 starter for the team. The veteran brings a professional and intelligent voice to the team, and with Maye being a 21 year old, it may be smart to sit him for a while to start the season.
While the team drafted another quarterback in Joe Milton later on in the draft, it does not appear hat he will compete for the starting job. Maye needs to be the long term answer for the team at quarterback, and the organization has been working very hard on getting him ready for life in the NFL.
These types of rough practices are great for a young quarterback as he will surely have tons to learn in his first training camp in the league. It will take time for Maye to become a proper franchise quarterback and so far it has been a little rough.
We will have to wait and see when Maye will be the starter in New England, but at the moment it seems later rather than sooner.