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New England Patriots Would Be Foolish To Start Drake Maye in 2024

Originally posted on The 33rd Team | By Tyler Brooke | Last updated Oct 7, 2024 4:19 PM ET

The New England Patriots have a tough decision to make at the quarterback position. However, if they are truly invested in a long-term rebuild, they should wait to start Drake Maye until next season.

The Patriots selected Maye with the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. This move was meant to signal a new era in New England, with Jerod Mayo taking over for Bill Belichick as head coach.

However, the Patriots have been unwilling to play Maye through the first five games of the season, opting instead to start journeyman Jacoby Brissett. After being adamant that Brissett would remain the starter, Mayo was much more noncommittal after the team's loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

"Every single day, we are all being evaluated, and it's no different now," Mayo told reporters when asked about a potential quarterback change.

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.

Maye Would CAPTAIN A Sinking Ship

Maye won't fix any of New England's problems on offense.

The stats aren't great, but Brissett is trying his best to take care of the football through five games. He's completing just 58.5 percent of his passes with 5.2 yards per attempt but has just one interception and zero fumbles. Pro Football Focus has him graded out at a 58.1 overall grade, which isn't good, but it's also not close to the worst grade on the Patriots offense.

Offensive line play is far and away the biggest problem for the Patriots' offense. 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.

The cut-up below shows just how bad things have gotten for Brissett, who is constantly throwing under duress.

Gotta respect Jacoby Brissett effort under pressure after being sacked due to coverage, then an instant interior loss on his first two dropbacks

Stood in to make multiple throws, some while being brought down, and had positive moments in extra long yardage situations pic.twitter.com/xl86ehLs6M
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) October 7, 2024

The offensive line issues will only get worse. Starting center David Andrews, who was arguably New England's best offensive lineman, was placed on injured reserve after season-ending shoulder surgery. Rookie starter Caedan Wallace was also put on IR, with the potential to return later this season.

The offensive line is completely depleted, and putting a rookie quarterback like Maye out there would only make things worse. As a younger quarterback, Maye might not be totally caught up with the team's pass protection schemes, and with Andrews out, that becomes even harder to handle with a backup center.

As NFL fans have seen with the Carolina Panthers, Byrce Young was forced onto the field early without much help up front. He was sacked 62 times last year, and by 2024, he looked like a completely different quarterback than the Heisman Trophy winner he was at Alabama.

According to FTN Fantasy, the Patriots' offense was 30th-ranked by DVOA through Week 5. They rank 31st with 250.8 total offensive yards per game and 12.4 points per game.

A Locker Room On The Edge

The biggest problem Mayo faces with keeping Maye on the bench is losing the trust of his players.

Veterans may view the organization deciding to sit Maye as a way of coddling him while starters are continuing to get beat up on a bad team. In fact, a recent report from Patriots.com senior reporter Evan Lazar suggested as much on a recent podcast.

Here’s Evan Lazar’s full statement on the locker room “teetering on mutiny” and it’s exactly what us “Start Drake Maye” people have been saying for weeks. pic.twitter.com/iiotX8Gs7t
— Kleaver Sports (@KleaverSports) October 3, 2024

"Right now, they're teetering on mutiny in that locker room," he said. "And I don't want to be alarmist or hyperbolic, I don't. But I was in that locker room. ... You're at the point now, with 52 other guys in that locker room, that all watch these two quarterbacks practice every single day, that all know they drafted Drake Maye third overall, and at what point in time do some of these guys say to themselves, 'Why am I going out there and getting my butt kicked every single Sunday, and Drake can't? Why am I going out there with a quarterback who can't get me the football when we have the Ferrari back in the garage that can get me the football?'"

If things continue to get worse and players start publicly calling for Maye to start, Mayo will have no choice but to go with the rookie quarterback.

Is It Time to Tank?

No matter how talented Maye is, he will not turn the Patriots into a playoff contender.

In fact, the Patriots should start thinking about next offseason instead of a potential path to the playoffs. If the season ended today, New England would have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, allowing them to quickly load up on young talent to turn the offense around.

They also have a projected $136 million in cap space in 2025 to sign veteran free agents. Key players like Jonathan Jones, Austin Hooper, and Michael Jordan could be re-signed, but that's not guaranteed.

That kind of cap flexibility and draft capital could allow the Patriots to quickly revamp their entire roster in a single offseason. An infusion of talent, with Maye taking over at quarterback in 2025, could quickly alter expectations for a team on track to have the NFL's worst record in 2024.

This article first appeared on The 33rd Team and was syndicated with permission.

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