It's so obvious why the New England Patriots need to let Drake Maye sit and develop in 2024

Drake Maye is the New England Patriots' latest franchise quarterback and the hope is, this time around, it's the inverse of what happened with Mac Jones.

A big reason why Jones is now in Jacksonville is because his development fell off a cliff after a solid rookie year. There are plenty of reasons why, but the objective truth is he couldn't keep climbing the ladder and it ultimately led to him losing his job with the Patriots.

The Patriots can't allow the same to happen with Maye, who was taken much higher than Jones at No. 3 overall. How do they do that? By being patient and building the needed infrastructure for Maye to succeed, like the Chicago Bears have done with Caleb Williams.

Now, the Pats don't have to wait until the roster (specifically the offensive side) is that of the Bears', but it certainly needs to be better than what it is, now. And that's the primary reason why Jerod Mayo needs to let Maye sit in 2024.

I'll just add that Maye with the Patriots is at least questionable for the immediate future. The Patriots have a porous offensive line outside of right tackle Mike Onwenu, and they didn't address it until the third round (Caedan Wallace at No. 68). The wide receiver corps, even with Ja'Lynn Polk added, lacks a true No. 1 option and is made up of really good second- and third-type targets. Maye is a solid player, there's no debating that. But the landing spot for a 21-year-old quarterback who needs time to develop is iffy. - Matt Miller, ESPN

For starters, a consistent thought among draft experts, coming into the draft, was Maye needed to sit for a year, anyway. He needs to cut down on the reckless throws and improve his processing abilities, like most rookie QBs, and the Patriots have a guy in Jacoby Brissett that can at least keep them afloat. So, it's not like they need to rush him into action, anyway.

Going back to the roster, though: there are no top-end playmakers and only one reliable offensive lineman. It doesn't matter who the quarterback is - a rookie is going to have issues if the supporting cast around him isn't at minimum, solid. The Patriots' current makeup on offense is below-average, at best. 

Sitting Maye gives the Patriots another year to create a successful environment, especially with the amount of cap space they'll have in 2025 (currently a league-leading $144 million) and a full slate of draft picks in the first five rounds of next year's draft.

The obvious pushback to the idea of sitting Maye is the Patriots need some kind of spark to get the franchise back on the map and to keep the fans from reaching the ultimate level of sports hell - apathy. Maye provides said spark, and most importantly - hope. Putting him on the football field creates excitement and intrigue, which is what the franchise so desperately needs, right now.

But, there are two counters to that. One being, the short-lived excitement can easily turn into misery if the process is flawed, as we saw with Jones. Do the Pats -and their fans- really want to go through all of that, again?

Secondly, the best countermeasure for a starving fanbase is a plan. And sticking to that plan. If the Patriots say the plan is to let Maye develop for a year while they continue to build -and again, they have a QB, as well as a defense, that can keep them in games in 2024- that is enough (for logical fans) to keep stomachs full, for a little while, as the final course cooks.

The key, though, is sticking to the plan unless there is no other course of action. If Brissett is healthy and the Pats are 3-12 - they have to keep Brissett on the field. They cannot put Maye in just to "see what they have". God forbid the dude gets seriously hurt, which hey that happens in football, and has to rehab during the offseason instead of lifting weights, watching film, practicing with teammates, and learning the playbook even more. That would set his development back, maybe even more than starting him in 2024 would. Just look at what an actual offseason did for Baker Mayfield, last year, in Tampa Bay, after he had to rehab during most of the 2022 offseason.

The only way, and reason, Maye needs to touch the field is if Brissett gets hurt and then at that point, the Patriots will have to cross their fingers and simply hope they get out of the rest of the season, unscathed, before reassembling and formulating the plan for 2025.

Granted, this could all change as Maye rips through training camp and looks like the next coming of Peyton Manning. But unless that happens, it's easy to see how the Pats need to play their cards when it comes to this hand.