When the New England Patriots selected Drake Maye with the third overall pick of the NFL Draft back in April, some assumed that Maye would open the season as the starter.
That did not happen, as Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo handed the job to Jacoby Brissett and doesn’t seem in any rush to turn the reins over to Maye.
Tyler Brooke of The 33rd Team thinks that is the right decision because of all of the other issues New England has offensively.
“Offensive line play is far and away the biggest problem for the Patriots’ offense,” Brooke wrote. “Brissett has already been sacked 17 times this season, the third-most sacks on a quarterback this season. He’s also third in the NFL with 74 pressures, behind only Deshaun Watson and Geno Smith.”
It’s not like Brissett isn’t mobile, so chances are, Maye wouldn’t fare much better. Brooke actually thinks things could go downhill with Maye under center.
“The offensive line is completely depleted, and putting a rookie quarterback like Maye out there would only make things worse,” added Brooke. “As a younger quarterback, Maye might not be totally caught up with the team’s pass protection schemes, and with [David] Andrews out, that becomes even harder to handle with a backup center.”
The Pats are certainly treating Maye with kid gloves, which is entirely understandable given what happened with Mac Jones. Maye is the future for the Patriots, so it’s important to ensure that his surrounding circumstances are ideal. Or at least not disastrous.
Not only does New England have a porous offensive line, but the team is incredibly limited in terms of weapons and may have the worst set of skill position players in football.
“It’s understandable that Mayo is under pressure to turn to the first-round rookie. However, for Maye’s long-term development, it’s important that the Patriots keep him on the sideline for as long as possible,” Brooke wrote.
We’ll see if Mayo decides to stick with Brissett the rest of the way.
