Patriots legend addresses if Drake Maye should sit as a rookie

New England Patriots legend and current NFL analyst Rodney Harrison is among those who believe the club should start veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett over rookie Drake Maye for at least a portion of the 2024 season.

"You don’t want to throw him out (there)," Harrison said about Maye during the latest edition of the "Eye On Foxborough" podcast, as shared by Lauren Campbell of MassLive. "And I don’t have the defenses in front of me, but I know like the first six weeks of the season, he’s going to be playing against a lot of really good defenses. And if it’s me, I’m putting Jacoby Brissett out there."

Specifically, the Patriots will face the Cincinnati Bengals, Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans over the first six weeks of the regular season. San Francisco lost Super Bowl LVIII to the Kansas City Chiefs in February, and both the Dolphins and Texans are also coming off playoff appearances.

Multiple noteworthy analysts said before and after the Patriots made Maye the third overall pick of the 2024 draft that New England should let him develop as a backup for reasons related to his weaknesses (such as his footwork) and because New England lacks talent at multiple positions on offense. As of Monday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Patriots' over/under win total for the upcoming campaign at just 4.5.

Maye spent parts of organized team activities as the club's QB3 behind Brissett and 2022 fourth-round draft pick Bailey Zappe. According to Campbell, Maye worked as the primary backup during Patriots minicamp on Monday.

"I might have Drake learn as much as he possibly can," Harrison continued. "And then in a relief role if he needs to come in — if a guy gets hurt or something like that — he’ll be ready. But I wouldn’t throw him right out there to the wolves like that. It’s a completely different game coming from North Carolina to being in the National Football League."

Based on predictions and power rankings, many seem to think the Patriots will essentially be out of the playoff hunt by the time their Week 14 bye arrives. Whether or not first-year head coach Jerod Mayo will keep Maye a spectator until at least the Week 15 game at the Arizona Cardinals on Dec. 15 shall be seen.