Based on Practice Reports, the Patriots are Getting Drake Maye Ready to Start Sooner Rather Than Later

Jerry Thornton9/12/2024 5:00 PM

There's no questioning the idea that the 2024 Patriots' Prime Directive is developing Drake Maye. That's the mission. To put him in a position where he can be the first quarterback to win a postseason game since Tom Brady in Super Bowl LIII. Every other priority is secondary, tertiary or thousandary.

Which is why it made so much sense to start the season with Jacoby Brissett. Until Alex Van Pelt could trust Scott Peters' offensive line to pass protect on a semi-professional level, putting a rookie under center would be like letting a toddler play in traffic with Tyreek Hill and Rashee Rice both running late.

And through one game, that was a great decision. In a word, the O-line was adequate Sunday in Cincinnati. Owning in large measure to Brissett himself. They surrendered 13 total pressures, with four QB hits. But only one sack for one yard, thanks to Brissett's veteran situational awareness, ability to extend plays, and understanding of when to just get rid of the ball and learn to drop back another day. His performance was Hippocratic Quarterbacking. First, do no harm. And it worked unexpectedly well.

For his part, Jerod Mayo is remaining focuses on Brissett as his QB1. On his contractually obligated weekly appearance on WEEI, he said as much:

“As a coaching staff, as an organization, we're 100 percent behind Jacoby,” Mayo said. “…We have a developmental plan for Drake. I mean, it's not for you guys to know what the developmental plan is, but we're developing him as well as getting Jacoby ready to go out there and be our starting quarterback and win games. I'm not sure what else I can say about that.”

He then added that he's had conversations with both quarterbacks and everyone else involved. They're all on the same page. And nobody's in a rush to make changes. Nor should they be, honestly. A road win when you're the biggest underdog of the week is a road win when you're the biggest underdog of the week. There's no reason to mess with what just worked.

But assuming this report is correct, the Pats are preparing for a change sooner than you might think:

Source - In speaking with CBS Sports Network on Monday, sideline reporter Evan Washburn — who was on-site for New England’s win this weekend against the Bengals — shared some insight that he and the rest of the broadcast team received from head coach Jerod Mayo about how they’re bringing Maye along:
“Some of the nuts and bolts of it are this: Jacoby’s the starter, he won the job in the offseason and training camp. Drake Maye’s the No. 2, but during the week he gets 30% of the first team reps — and for those that don’t know, a backup in a normal NFL situation, if they get 5-10% of the first team reps, that would be a lot.”

He continued: “Those are valued extremely high by the starter. I mean, you go back to the Tom Brady days, the backup ain’t getting any reps. So that tells you how much they’re investing in what Drake Maye’s getting out of this year even though at the moment, he’s not the starter.”

I said "assuming this report is correct" like it wouldn't be. It's not a rumor. It's not hearsay. There's no anonymous source here. Washburn heard it coming directly from the horse's mouth in the obligatory "We spoke to Jerod Mayo this week …" production meeting the broadcast team has with every coach.

And simply put, you do not give almost a third of the practice reps to a guy you do not intend to play. And play soon. While I can't confirm that 5-10% figure Washburn threw out about what backups normally get, it sounds about right. Regardless, I can guarantee that (just as random examples) Andy Dalton in Carolina or Tyrod Taylor in New York didn't take 30% of the snaps away from their starters.

If the term wasn't so loaded right now, I'd say they're grooming Maye to start in the next few weeks. I'm on record as saying he gets his first start in Week 5. At the start of a month in which the Pats play three home games and one neutral site game in London. And nothing that has transpired since I first came to that conclusion has convinced me otherwise.

If nothing else, that top priority for 2024 remains Job One. The coaches recognize that's the mission. They came in with a plan. That plan is being executed. And it's coming together: