The Patriots have punted on the season: Should Drake Maye still start?

Courtesy of SB Nation

The New England Patriots have had one of the most interesting off-seasons a team could have. They started early on, firing head coach Bill Belichick and then internally hiring linebackers coach Jerod Mayo to fill the void left by one of the greatest figures to ever grace a turf field. The team then moved to the front office, where they gave Eliot Wolf and the so called “Old Regime” control of the team’s operation of free agency and the NFL Draft.

This test trial for Wolf and Co resulted in the mega extension of defensive stalwart Christian Barmore and the drafting of a potential franchise quarterback, University of North Carolina product Drake Maye.

The flurry of extensions and new young center pieces clearly indicated that this was not the season the Patriots intended on competing, though with some veterans still hanging on by a thread, the team had not fully shown a willingness to beat themselves into the bottom of the barrel for the sake of future riches. That was until the Matthew Judon trade occurred.

Judon, arguably the most recognizable player to represent the Patriots since Tom Brady’s departure, was shipped to Atlanta in exchange for a 2025 third round pick. This move coming in lieu of Judon’s displeasure with his current contract situation that placed him financially in the middle of the pack for edge rushers.

With Judon gone, the Patriots have stuck their flag in the ground and have firmly planted themselves in the grounds of youth development. If you are over 30, the Patriots have no use for you other than helping out the 20 somethings that will be playing meaningful snaps in 2026. It is clear that the front office is already onto the 2025 offseason.

Now, there is nothing wrong with punting on this season. It is actually what the team should be doing. Why should the team not care about 2024? Well it is actually quite simple, no roster that the team could possibly put together with the team’s current assets would come anything close to contending for a playoff spot.

When a team hits the ground so hard like the 2023 Patriots did, all you can do is tear it down and try again when you have an entirely new base. Rosters do not just come together in a day, if you screw up bad in the NFL, you screw up BAD. Just look at the Texans under the guidance of former Belichick front office protege Nick Caserio. It took the Texans three seasons of four wins or less to get back to a contending roster after Bill O’Brien ran all traces of young talent out of town. Now the team is in the best shape it has ever been thanks to quality drafting and patience.

That brings us to the current sticking point in the Patriots whole entire tear it down and start next year plan, Maye may be ahead of schedule in his development.

This should be good for most to hear, but in the Patriots case it could lead to irreversible errors if it is not guided right.

Maye looked great in his preseason showing against the Eagles. He went 6–11 for 47 yards with one bomb to Javon Baker that should have counted for a solid 50 yard gain if it was not dropped.

Complaints about Maye’s footwork looked manufactured with Maye being cool and collected while stepping up in the pocket. Maye also seemed to be fast in his reads and made the right calls to get out of the pocket when necessary. Maye looked like an NFL quarterback, while Jacoby Brissett looked uncontrolled and doubting of himself.

Prior to this game I had concerns about the QB room as a whole. I don’t think offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, who has never called plays in his career, is the right person to put alongside a developing quarterback and I thought all four QBs looked underwhelming in practice. Maye looked especially underwhelming in practice, not nearly having any good zip on the ball and almost looking lackadaisical in the reps he took. Maye looked accurate, just not the physical specimen he should be.

The attitude in practice, though, is something that I do like out of him. Maye seems like he’s being hard on himself, rather than shutting down and pouting like Mac Jones, he seems to really get mad at himself and challenges himself on the next rep. Because of the attitude he brings, I don’t think bad coaching will destroy what he has in game completely like Jones, but it is a factor that could still eat away at him slowly.

If Maye continues to play like he did in that preseason game, the Patriots will feel the pressure to start him… and based on merit they should, but I believe if they cannot straighten out the offensive line, just take the bullet and bench him.

Right now Vederian Lowe is the starting left tackle, that is not going to work. It will do Maye far worse to get killed behind an offensive line that gives him no time to process and make mistakes that are his own fault. Maye needs in game reps to learn, behind the Patriots current line, he will be getting most likely one new set of downs at most every series.

Don’t even get me started on the injury factors, that if one did occur, could set back Maye for potentially up to a year plus. The Patriots do not have the Mahomes situation where they can plug in the young gun behind an amazing offensive line with weapons galore. The Patriots offensive line is currently a wreck, they should not want Maye feeling like he’s on the front lines in Saigon behind the current turn styles they have running the ends of the line.

The Patriots should follow this plan to a tee, I will even map it out for them.

1. Let Brissett start week one.
2. Brissett plays every quarterback snap for the team up to the trade deadline with Javon Baker, Ja’Lynn Polk, and Pop Douglas playing as much as possible to develop prior to inserting Maye.
3. Get Caedan Wallace repping at left tackle and if he can’t hold it securely just yet, trade for a proven veteran. You can’t take any chances with Maye once he comes in.
4. If Maye is still performing better than Brissett by week 13 and the offensive line has proven to be serviceable, start Maye December 1st against the Colts at Gillette.
5. Maye plays the final five games, with no pressure to make anything happen and has a light first game at home followed by an easy road game in Arizona, plus a bye week to evaluate everything between his first start and Arizona. This is the ideal landing point.
6. End the season. Evaluate Maye’s play and the coaching staff. If Van Pelt is holding Maye back, don’t hesitate to fire him and bring in a proven play caller (think Josh McDaniels), to salvage his development. It will be better to do this sooner rather than later. Two seasons of Van Pelt could be the end of Maye for good if Van Pelt can’t figure it out.
7. Get rid of Brissett, insert Maye as the permanent starter, and grab a veteran backup that won’t threaten Maye for the starting job and can also be with Maye for a few years (Taylor Heinicke, C.J. Beathard, Jake Browning).
8. The team will be at the top of the draft so draft an offensive tackle like Will Campbell and try to attack the edge and receiver positions during the later rounds.
9. Go into season two with Maye as the starter, a premium young left tackle, and developed wide receivers. At this point we can expect the team to be in more of the middle of the pack, as they gear up to take the big jump in 2026.

Maye’s development is the key to if the Patriots franchise will sink or swim. Rushing him in and failing would mean the franchise, which is already set back a good three plus years, would have a good shot at adding another three to that total. For the Patriots sake, take it easy. As hard as it is, start the lesser player, start Brissett over Maye.