Drake Maye Has Been on an Absolute Tear, but the Coaching Staff Reminds You to Slow Your Roll on Any Idea of Him as QB1

Boston Globe. Getty Images.

It's been less than 24 hours since no less a source than the head coach of the Patriots fueling speculation than his starting quarterback position is wide open at the moment:

And with good reason. Maye has not only begun taking significant reps with the first unit:

… for the last several practices, the preseason game against the Eagles, and the joint practices with Philly prior to that, he's been performing circles around Jacoby Brissett:

So yeah, if you're invested in finally seeing what the Pats got as a reward for being the third worst team in the NFL, these have been days of flaming hot anticipation. And Mayo declaring it an open competition squeezed an entire can of lighter fluid on those briquets. 

But just to beat this analogy to death, next to my gas and my charcoal grills, I keep a small emergency fire blanket. Because I'm just that kind of mature, responsible adult who doesn't believe in taking reckless and unnecessary risks. Unfortunately for the people advocating hard for Maye to start Week 1, so are the Patriots offensive coaches. Seemingly all of them. Because they grabbed that metaphorical fire putter-outer and doused those flames. Maye, it seems will not get his chance to cook any time soon:

Patriots.com - Speaking to reporters before Thursday's practice, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt gave his perspective on Maye's progress. The veteran OC was asked what is preventing Maye from earning the starting role, and he said, "Jacoby."

 

"[Brissett] is our starting quarterback. The good news is that this week, we get to play everybody. We're still in the evaluation process. We have one more preseason game, and our guys are going to play, so we have another chance to evaluate."

The follow-up question to Van Pelt was obvious: is there still a chance that Maye could be the Week 1 starter? To that, Van Pelt replied, "Sure, there's a chance. But there's still a process of how you bring a rookie quarterback along. …

"Jacoby, having played in this offense, understands some of the tools that you can use to get you out of certain situations. Pressure situations, things like that," Van Pelt explained. "Drake is still learning, but he has been really impressive the last few weeks. He's moving in the right direction, for sure. Jacoby has tons of experience, not just in the NFL but in this system."

And while Maye's quarterbacks coach TC McCartney had a ton of positive things to say about how he's learning the pro-style footwork he was never taught at UNC, he still suggested he's not ready:

Together, these comments speak volumes. 

First, obviously, that Mayo is handling the overall administration of his team and skating his lane when it comes to offense vs. defense. He's a delegator. Letting the guys with experience make the decisions on their side of the line. 

Second, those experts who are outstanding in their field (and I'd remind you how during practice they were literally out standing in their field, but I'm not doing comedy in the Poconos in 1954) don't sound remotely ready to do with Maye vs. Brissett what was done with Mac Jones vs. Cam Newton in 2021.

Third, they probably still don't completely trust the offensive unit they're attempting to cobble together. Not the hand of cards they're currently holding on the O-line. Or their young crop of receivers. Or Maye's ability to manage them all without spending part of his crucial rookie season development on IR. 

Which begs the question: If not now, then when? And the more I think about it, the more I agree with this theory floated by Andrew Siciliano of NFL Network:

New England is on the road for three of their first four games. He might be overrating Cincinnati (28th ranked defense against the pass in 2023) and Seattle (25th in overall defense), the Jets were 12th and San Francisco was 3rd. That's a lot to ask of a guy in the first month after he turns 22. Particularly on a team with an entirely revamped coaching staff, a new system, and new starters all across the formation. Or a franchise that, even in the best of times, still always treated September like an extension of training camp and didn't really sort their shit out until around early October. And these are far from the best of times. 

So right now, I support the hypothesis being proposed here. You give Maye until Week 5 to watch and learn. That's a nice little runway to help him get up to speed and off the ground. His first two games are at home, as is his fourth. And no one's at home in his third, because it's in London. And two of those are against Miami and Jacksonville who were each in the bottom half of the league defensively. 

I'm as anxious to see Maye become the transformative savior we need as anyone. But his development is more important than anything else this season. If he needs more time to gestate in the womb, I'm fine with pushing back his due date. And to hear the midwives on the offensive staff tell it, this legend is not ready to be born. I can wait forever. As long as forever means October 6th.