Patriots fans got their first look at third overall pick Drake Maye in NFL game action Thursday night, but it didn’t last long. Maye played just one series in New England’s 17-3 preseason win over the Carolina Panthers, completing 2-of-3 passes for 19 yards and picking up one first down before a punt.
Like many others, The Greg Hill Show was baffled that Maye didn’t play more and wondered what it might mean for his prospects of starting Week 1.
Interestingly, Chris Curtis and Chris Scheim came to different conclusions. Curtis believes that Maye not playing more means he isn’t going to get a real chance to win the starting job, while Scheim believes the fact that Maye and Jacoby Brissett both played only with the starters – and not with the second-string offensive line – shows that there already is a competition.
“I think, unfortunately, you’re not going to see Drake Maye Week 1,” Curtis said. “If there was any opportunity, if he really was in a tryout here, you were going to see him that first half and give him an opportunity. The fact that they played a series tells me that it’s going to be Jacoby Brissett for at least the first month or two of the season.”
“I totally disagree. I got the exact opposite vibe from this,” Scheim countered. “Clearly, Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye are the two guys and they haven’t decided exactly which one is going to start Week 1, which is why neither of them played more in this game.”
Jermaine Wiggins said he tends to side with Scheim on this.
“I kind of agree with Scheim,” Wiggy said. “…That was the approach to me last night, where you had two guys competing to see who the starting quarterback is. Because even with Jacoby Brissett, he still needs to work with that first unit. So why wouldn’t you say, OK, we’re giving Jacoby the first two series? He went one series and Drake Maye went one.”
As for Joe Milton, the sixth-round rookie who went 4-of-6 passing for 54 yards and a touchdown while also running for 22 yards, Wiggy is not ready to buy in after a couple exciting plays.
“I’m not really jumping into that,” Wiggy said. “I mean, he did a good job. He showed his athletic ability. He reminds me of like Cam Newton when he was younger in the league. But you don’t draft Drake Maye number three overall to have him competing with the sixth-round pick in Joe Milton. If he makes good plays, great, but we’re not going to see him at all [in the regular season].”