New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye experienced his first couple of NFL practices on Friday and Saturday, and head coach Jerod Mayo doesn’t seem too thrilled with what he saw from his rookie.
When asked about Maye, Mayo offered a rather sobering response.
“He has a lot to work on. A lot to work on,” Mayo said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN. “But I have no doubt that he will put the time in. He was here all night trying to get on the same page as everyone else.”
There were some who expressed concern over Maye’s mechanics heading into the NFL Draft late last month. While many have lauded Maye’s potential and are expecting big things from him, he is a very raw prospect and may stand the best chance of sitting in his debut campaign.
Could Mayo be hitting that this is where the Patriots are heading?
New England selected Maye with the third overall pick in April, which was what most expected New England to do. The Pats desperately needed a quarterback, after all.
However, the Patriots have many more needs than just signal-caller.
New England is severely lacking at the skill positions, with Kendrick Bourne representing its No. 1 wide receiver at the moment. The Pats planned on signing Calvin Ridley in free agency, but Ridley ended up spurning them in favor of the Tennessee Titans.
The Patriots were unable to really pivot, with their only signing at the position being K.J. Osborn. Osborn is a decent auxiliary option, but New England still badly needs a legitimate No. 1 guy.
This has led many to believe that the Pats will roll with Jacoby Brissett instead of Maye come Week 1, and it may be the best course of action for the franchise in order to protect and preserve Maye.
The last thing the Patriots want is another repeat of the Mac Jones situation, where Jones completely lost confidence and ended up spiraling out of control over his final couple of seasons in Foxborough.
Mayo repeatedly saying that Maye has “a lot to work on” means that he obviously thinks Maye is very green. He may have great talent, but whether it’s his mechanics or simply his understanding of the game, Mayo is making it clear that Maye isn’t even close to being ready.
Now, to be fair, Maye literally just started. He has the rest of the offseason and preseason to get ready for the 2024 campaign. But Mayo’s comments have done nothing to dissuade people from thinking that Brissett will end up being the guy once things kick off in September.
We’ll see how much progress Drake Maye is able to make as the offseason continues.
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