Rookie quarterback Drake Maye has played limited minutes this preseason. New England Patriots Fans have been missing something for the past few seasons.
Hope.
Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, showed glimpses of some of the traits New England fans have been looking for at the position since Tom Brady left: athleticism, arm strength, creativity, pocket finesse and toughness. While the numbers weren't gaudy (Maye completed 21 of 34 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown in three games), the footage supported the idea that New England may have found its next franchise quarterback.
Check out this play from New England's third and final preseason game. Washington Commandersa 29-yard pass to fellow rookie Jalynn Polk.
It's a pretty standard shallow cross concept, with Maye operating from under center and New England using play-action: After executing a run fake with his back to the defense (a move that gives him less time to read the defense and decipher the coverage), Maye feels pressure from the left edge, climbs into the pocket and throws a perfect pass.
Exactly the way you'd expect from a rookie quarterback.
Or he could move the chains with a pass to Demario Douglas on third down.
Maye stayed in the collapsed pocket, used his legs to create space and struck out on another crossing route for a first down.
Two plays later, he threw his first NFL touchdown pass.
But despite the promise Maye showed during the preseason and the traits he's displayed in his limited playing time, New England is heading in a different direction heading into Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season. Head coach Jerrod Mayo said Thursday that veteran Jacoby Brissett Cincinnati BengalsMay was demoted to a backup role.
The decision may be controversial, but it may be the best one for May.
Watching New England's offense against Washington, especially when Maye was in the game, another name comes to mind.
David Carr.
As Maye showed off these traits, he was doing it behind an offensive line that struggled to protect both him and Brissett: There was a fumble on an exchange between the center and the quarterback, multiple hits on both passes, and Maye even completed a pass after one of the offensive linemen stepped on his foot and took off his left cleat.
Carson was the first overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft by an expansion team. Houston TexansCarr had an astounding 76 sacks in his rookie season, which still stands as an NFL record, and though that number dropped to 15 the following season (as Carr only played in 12 games), he bounced back to 49 in 2004, a league-high for that season.
Carr was never comfortable in the pocket, having spent the majority of his first three seasons under pressure there, and the struggles guarding him were a major factor in him not living up to expectations as a quarterback in Houston.
Returning to the Patriots, the team is going through a rebuilding cycle, but if there is one glaring weakness at the moment, it's the offensive line. Many New England reporters have pointed to the OL as an issue, with longtime Patriots reporter Tom Curran saying: Description Mayo himself cited his concerns about the offensive line asExaggeratedHe also gave a fairly candid description of his squad ahead of the cuts.
Jerrod Mayo said about the No. 3 waiver claim. About WEEI:
“Your starting guard or starting tackle might not be on the team today.”
— Chris Mason (@ByChrisMason) August 26, 2024
New England drafted Maye not just for Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season, but hopefully Week 1 of the next 10 or more. Using Maye in Week 1 of this season behind a team that has struggled and lost Brissett to an injury early in the preseason finale against Washington is not the way to build a solid foundation for a rookie.
New England will want to get Maye on the field at some point this season, but at the end of the day, the main goal this year is to go into next offseason with the confidence that Maye is the franchise quarterback this team has been looking for since Brady stepped off the podium in that loss to New England. Tennessee Titans He won the playoffs and never looked back, and if the Patriots feel confident in Meyer going into next offseason, they could build a team around him. Approximately $90 million in cap space Make good use of it and prepare for serious running next year.
But that plan doesn't work if Maye wears himself out playing behind a porous offensive line.
The NFL isn't known for patience, and in exchange for the No. 3 overall pick, the forces outside the building, and sometimes inside the building, want to see that player on the field. On a rainy night in New England's first preseason game, Carolina PanthersFoxboro fans booed May after his brief cameo, as they wanted to see more of the highly anticipated rookie.
But sometimes patience is a virtue.
In this case, we might be offered the best version of Maye.
