Drake Maye Named Patriots’ Week Six Starter
It has been reported that New England Patriots rookie quarterback, Drake Maye, will be making his NFL regular season debut at home against the Houston Texans. Maye has been sitting on the sidelines behind Jacoby Brissett. Maye was drafted third overall by the Patriots in the 2024 NFL Draft and was seen as the subsequent replacement for the traded Mac Jones. After the Patriots picked up Jacoby Brissett, it was announced at the beginning of the season that he would start and Maye would sit. Fans and analysts believed that Maye would start at Week Four at the earliest, but after a promising start to the season, it almost seemed as if Jerod Mayo wanted to move forward with Brissett for a while, though after a very disappointing three games, they have made the choice to start Maye.
The Patriots currently sit with a 1-4 record, losing four games in a row. While Jacoby Brissett is pretty much a veteran he has been struggling to say the least since Week Three. He will have completed 79 of 135 passes, which is equivalent to a 58.5% completion rate, with only two touchdowns and an interception. The interception turned out to be a pick-six from linebacker Fred Warner of the San Francisco 49ers in Week Four. Brissett didn’t even reach 100 yards in the 15-10 loss against the Miami Dolphins. The Patriots currently sit as the second-lowest-scoring team in the league with 12.4 points per game, just 0.4 points ahead of Miami’s 12. Drake Maye will become the seventh Patriots quarterback to make his first career start since 2000 and the third to do so in his rookie season. The Patriots sit at 5-1 with a rookie quarterback starting, so the odds are pretty much in their favor. Also, having Maye under the center could be a breath of fresh air because he is known to have a strong arm.
In the 2023 season for the University of Carolina, Maye completed 269 of 425 passes for 3,608 passing yards and 24 touchdowns. He also ran for 449 yards with nine rushing touchdowns. He finished fifth in total passing yards with 8,018 and fourth in passing touchdowns with 63 in UNC history. While the Patriots do lack weapons on the receiver side of things, they could benefit from Maye’s strength and quick decision-making. There is only one place to find that out and that is this Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
