The New England Patriots took Drake Maye with the No. 3 pick within the 2024 NFL Draft to assist the franchise return to prominence.
However that pursuit will not start with Week 1 of the common season.
The Patriots introduced Thursday that veteran Jacoby Brissett will be the starting quarterback. Maye outplayed Brissett within the preseason and in a number of practices over the previous couple of weeks, nevertheless it wasn’t sufficient for him to win the No. 1 job.
The talk now could be, when will Maye lastly see the sector? Is it really potential that he might sit the entire season?
Properly, primarily based on latest historical past, Maye not taking part in in any respect in his rookie season would positively be an outlier.
“The entire thing on rookie quarterbacks modified in 2008 when Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco made the playoffs with their groups,” Sports activities Illustrated’s Albert Breer stated Thursday on NBC Sports activities Boston’s Early Version, as seen within the video participant above.
“There have been 16 draft cycles since then, from 2008 to 2023 and never together with this 12 months. Forty-eight quarterbacks have been drafted within the first spherical over these 16 drafts, and there is been solely three true redshirts — Patrick Mahomes in 2017, Jordan Love in 2020 and Jake Locker in 2011.
“What these guys all had in frequent was, they had been taking part in for groups that had been contending to the very finish, they usually had been taking part in behind achieved veteran quarterbacks.”
🔊 Patriots Discuss Podcast: Brian Hoyer goes deep on Patriots QB resolution to start out Jacoby Brissett over Drake Maye | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
Mahomes sat behind Alex Smith, who was an excellent QB and guided the Chiefs to the playoffs with an 10-6 file in 2017. Love was the backup for Aaron Rodgers, who gained league MVP in 2020 and led the Packers to the NFC Championship Recreation. Locker performed behind Matt Hasselbeck because the 2011 Titans went 9-7 and barely missed the playoffs.
Brissett just isn’t somebody who’s going to guide the Patriots to the playoffs. He is not at that degree, and neither is the group as a complete. He is a bridge quarterback. This, amongst different components, is why it will be so shocking if Maye did not play in any respect in 2024.
“The Patriots are going to need to be traditionally disciplined to present Drake Maye a full redshirt 12 months,” Breer stated. “That is a part of why I believe Atlanta is at a little little bit of a bonus with the way in which they’re arrange. There’s going to be no stress for them to play Michael Penix Jr. as a result of Kirk Cousins is there.
“What usually occurs in these conditions is you could have a bridge man, which is what Jacoby Brissett is, and then you definitely get six, eight, 10 video games into the season and it is clear to all people, together with the locker room, that the rookie most likely offers you the most effective probability within the brief time period.”
The Patriots might weigh a number of components earlier than deciding when is the appropriate time to start out Maye. One in every of them could possibly be the offensive line, which has been an enormous weak spot for this group for a while. The very last thing the Patriots would need is for Maye to be sacked 40-plus instances and be operating for his life on most performs, like David Carr in 2002. The schedule is one other potential issue. New England has one of the league’s toughest schedules, particularly early on with matchups towards the Bengals, Jets, 49ers and Dolphins within the first 5 weeks.
Regardless of the Patriots determine, it is a resolution they completely need to get proper. The short- and long-term success of the franchise relies on it.
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