FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The Drake Maye era is beginning in New England.
The quarterback, whom the Patriots drafted with the No. 3 overall pick in April, is set to make his first NFL start Sunday against the visiting Houston Texans, according to a team source. The move is a shift in the team’s thinking as they now bench Jacoby Brissett.
The Patriots’ plan for this season was to play Brissett for as long as possible, eventually turning to Maye later this season. Much of the team’s brain trust, led by Eliot Wolf, came from Green Bay where the Packers have had success sitting rookie quarterbacks and letting them learn.
But a disastrous last three games for the Patriots have led to four straight losses and prompted the change.
By the end of training camp, coach Jerod Mayo admitted Maye was outplaying Brissett. Maye’s deep ball is better, he’s more mobile and his decision making on throws is quicker than Brissett’s. But Brissett had a better understanding of offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt’s system, and so they went with the veteran, hoping a couple of months on the bench would help Maye.
Five games into the season, though, the Patriots are 1-4 and desperately need a jolt. The Patriots haven’t thrown for more than 170 yards in a game this season and they’ve failed to reach even 150 yards in three of their five games. Brissett has completed 58.5 percent of his passes for 696 yards and two touchdowns with one interception, while taking 17 sacks.
(Photo: Adam Hunger / Getty Images)
