What made now the time to start Drake Maye?
For months, Patriots fans have had to lie awake at night, staring up at the ceiling, asking one question: when will Drake Maye start?
Now, we finally have the answer. New England’s third overall pick will get his first NFL start in a Week 6 matchup against the Houston Texans this Sunday.
“This is a 12-week NFL season this year, and it starts on Sunday,” Rich Keefe said Wednesday on WEEI.
Keefe and Adam Jones recapped the rollercoaster of emotions that much of the fanbase has been trapped on this season.
“I was definitely terrified that it was going to be [Jacoby] Brissett again, and then you get the announcement yesterday during WEEI Afternoons that, ‘Look out, it is gonna be Drake Maye.’ What a thrill, what a time to be alive,” Keefe said.
It’s curious timing for the Patriots, though, to make this decision given that the Texans are a surefire contender in the AFC and have a very good defense. Why throw Maye into a game against a tough opponent for his first start?
“They're one of the best teams in football, and they have a great defense,” Keefe said.
“They made a rookie quarterback look pretty bad, in Caleb Williams, a couple of weeks ago.”
Houston’s defense held Williams to 174 passing yards and a 21.2 QBR in that Week 2 matchup. Why set up Maye to be another stifled rookie quarterback in that same way?
Keefe believed Jerod Mayo never really wanted to be playing Brissett from the get-go.
“Week 1, they win, but even then, Mayo, you could tell he wasn't super pumped about it. He's like, ‘This isn't sustainable, we need to throw the ball more, that's a problem, but Jacoby's our guy.’ So then you lose Week 2, and it's close, and so there's not a huge cry for the quarterback,” Keefe said.
But after a fourth straight loss coming at the hands of the Dolphins on Sunday, the fingers have begun pointing at Brissett.
“Against Miami, it was just such a slog of a game. So if you got better quarterback play, you probably win,” Keefe said.
Now, heading into Week 6, Mayo is finally standing up to GM Eliot Wolf, OC Alex Van Pelt, or whoever and demanding Maye get the start.
“At this point, I think Mayo says, ‘Listen, we did your plan, this was your plan, but we owe it to the rest of the team, hell, we owe it to me to make this swap, Brissett’s not living up to his end of the bargain, we’ve got to play Drake Maye,” Keefe said.
Despite the excitement for Maye to start, Jones wants the Patriots to be more honest about the fact that their plans have changed.
“Don't lie to me and tell me this is your plan, that it was Week 6 all along, and this was the plan,” Jones said.
“Obviously, there are outside factors: the other rookies playing well, how bad the team is struggling, empty seats, booing at the stadium, like a business aspect, and the international game looming.”
While the Patriots were forced to make a decision because they were in a tough spot themselves, they’ve now put Maye in a tough spot by playing him against a strong Texans defense with weak protection from his O-line.
“Here's the thing, though, if you have outside factors, and not just your plan, you run into playing Drake Maye against Houston, which, they're number one, or at least high on the list, depending on what metric you look at for pressure rates and the Patriots obviously allow an exceptionally high pressure rate,” Jones continued.
Ultimately, Sunday’s game presents two possible scenarios for the Patriots: an opportunity to take credit, whether due or undue, for a well-timed QB transition, or a forced-hand baptism by fire motivated by outside factors.
Tune in for kickoff at 1 p.m. to see which comes true.
