Jerod Mayo might finally be changing his mind about throwing rookie quarterback Drake Maye into the mix for the New England Patriots and benching veteran Jacoby Brissett.
Mayo has so far stood firm on keeping Brissett in the firing line, but the head coach’s tone changed dramatically after Week 5’s 15-10 defeat to the Miami Dolphins.
Speaking on “The Greg Hill Show” for WEEI on Monday, October 7, Mayo admitted, “One thing I’ll say about Jacoby and I’ve said this time and time again, and even yesterday he was hit quite a bit. Look, I admire his toughness and being able to get back up and continue to play the game. He made some good throws yesterday and he also missed some throws. That has shown up all season. Now in saying that, he’s been hammered back there in the pocket and I think it’s unfair to sit here and be too critical of him, but at the same time recognizing to give this team the best chance to win we have to be able to throw the ball. It’s a solution-based business and we have to find solutions as coaches.”
Those last two sentences are significant because they represent a verbal acknowledgement from Mayo the Patriots have to get better in the passing game. His words are also an acknowledgement that improvement might not happen with Brissett still at the controls.
The Patriots selected Maye third overall in the 2024 NFL draft to ultimately be their franchise quarterback. He’s got the arm talent and athletic improv skills to live up to the billing, but those traits are going to waste on the bench for a 1-4 team.
Maye being a more dynamic athlete than Brissett is precisely why the rookie should be given his chance for Week 6’s game against the Houston Texans. Even though the Pats lack the ideal framework to support an inexperienced signal-caller.
Reports Suggest Patriots Leaning Toward QB Switch
More than a few prominent reporters believe Maye will get the nod when the Texans visit to Gillette Stadium on Sunday, October 13. Among them, ESPN’s Adam Schefter declared, “A QB change could soon be coming to New England, with rookie first-round pick Drake Maye potentially starting Sunday vs. the Texans.”
Schefter also retweeted his colleague Mike Reiss pointing out there’s a “Notable shift in Jerod Mayo’s answers regarding QB situation in his day-after-game video conference compared to past weeks. Mayo said last week the way the team won its only game was ‘unsustainable’ and he seems to strongly be considering switch to Drake Maye.”
There’s a subtle but key difference here. Reiss framed his take as “opinion/analysis,” but Schefter was more declarative.
The stronger tone was noted by Mike Kadlick of CLNS Media, who spotted “An added layer to this: In his Instagram version of the post, Schefter adds ‘as well as other sources’ to his take that the #Patriots could potentially start Drake Maye this week.”
Kadlick even included a post from 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Alex Barth lamenting how “This is where it gets tough to interpret Schefter sometimes. Is this a report? His take? It’s not clear either way.”
It is hard to decipher between takes and confirmations. Just like it’s tough to gauge how committed Mayo is to changing his stance about his team’s best option football’s most important position.
The deciding factor could be which QB gives the Pats the best chance to offset a struggling offensive line. Frankly, that choice should be clear.
Drake Maye Gives Patriots Better Chance of Hiding Biggest Weakness
If there’s go-to argument for keeping Maye in bubble wrap it concerns New England’s sieve-like offensive line. An overmatched front five that’s allowed Brissett to take 17 sacks and 20 hits, as well as surrendering 51 pressures, per Pro Football Reference.
Those are disturbing numbers, but not everybody believes pass protection is the sole problem. After taking a detailed look at how often Brissett was under duress against the Dolphins, NBCS Boston’s Phil Perry noted, “While there were six dropbacks that were generated in under 2.0 seconds, there were five more pressures that came 3.5 seconds (or more) after the snap.”
There are two reasons for Mayo and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt to believe Maye gives the Patriots a better chance to combat pressure. The first concerns the 22-year-old’s superior mobility.
Maye was credited by Nate Tice of Yahoo! Sports. as “extremely dangerous as a runner. Both on scrambles and designed runs” during his collegiate days at North Carolina.
Plays like these show how Maye is able to flip pressure situations in his favor and still manufacture positive gains. Brissett isn’t close to as elusive or quick on the move.
Maye’s move skills don’t just apply to escaping the rush. He can also climb the pass pocket or throw on the run, creating off-platform opportunities for big plays through the air.
The Patriots have been missing those while teams have teed off on a static Brissett, but Maye is getting better adjusting to the blitz. That’s according to Albert Breer of The MMQB, who told Patriots Coverage on NBCS “dealing with the blitz in practice, it’s been a big area of progress the last couple of weeks.”
Week 6 has been a common prediction for when Maye would take the reins. His ascension won’t turn the Patriots into winners overnight, but it can help Mayo and his staff improve their play calling and slowly expand the offense.
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