Drake Maye, photo courtesy of New England Patriots
By Jackson Melin
Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and Bill Belichick; those are the names that are immediately thought of when mentioning the New England Patriots. The 6-time Super Bowl-winning dynasty was a force from 2001-2019. But those times are long gone, and no trace of the original team is still on the roster. This is a new-look Patriots team with a rookie head coach and a rookie quarterback.
The Patriots hired former player Jerod Mayo as head coach this last offseason to try and rebuild the dreadful 4-13 squad. They also drafted North Carolina’s quarterback Drake Maye third overall in the 2023 draft. So far, the experiment hasn’t worked out as the Patriots have a 1-4 record. The veteran “bridge QB” Jacoby Brissett has underperformed. This season, Brissett has thrown for only 696 yards and two touchdowns. Throw in (pun intended) a quarterback rating of just 38.9, and that equals failure.
But is it all Brissett’s fault? He was sacked 17 times, which is the third most in the league. His top receiver yards leader, tight end Hunter Henry, has only reached 185 yards. To help fix the situation, Mayo stated that Maye would start (likely the rest of the season), but he is walking into a nightmare scenario. How can Mayo fix this?
The answer lies in the 2025 draft, where Colorado’s wide receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter is ripe for the picking. Hunter is a once-in-a-generation-type player, as he plays both offense and defense. Between catching touchdowns, or intercepting the ball, he could provide an instant boost. Maye has a great sense of pocket pressure; he can escape the pocket for a throw of a deep pass downfield. However, with any rookie quarterback, there are weaknesses. Maye had 16 interceptions in his collegiate career and couldn’t hit many of his receivers. New England also drafted University of Washington’s wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk in the second round to assist Maye. His 6’2” 190-pound frame is excellent for jump balls.
Maye is not the type of player to produce in year one. He needs to grow behind a good receiving cast and a good offensive line. If the Patriots can sign a lineman through free agency and draft Hunter, Maye will have a (bite-size) chance to become the next Touchdown Tom.