Giving Drake Maye his first career start against Houston Texans’ formidable pass rush is less than ideal, but the rookie will at least have this going for him: for the first time this season, the offensive line looks stable – and that’s a big deal.
Coaches like to say five fingers form a fist on the offensive line. In New England’s case, they’ve suffered broken thumbs and an outright amputation.
For the first time this season, the Patriots have the ability to roll out the same starting five blocking for back-to-back weeks.
“We anticipate there being some stability up front,” head coach Jerod Mayo said before Friday’s practice, the closest he could commit to the second week of having Vederian Lowe, Michael Jordan, Nick Leverett, Mike Onwenu, and Demontrey Jacobs starting.
Losing captain David Andrews at the center position was a major blow to unit and will certainly make it tougher for Maye to feel organized coming out of the huddle. Leverett and Maye have been working together outside of practices to get their chemistry right by Sunday.
“It’s all about syncing the process. Not just me and him, but all the guys up front, just trying to get used to the voice and getting that syncing process started,” Leverett told me at his locker.
Maye will also benefit from Lowe’s second back-to-back start against Houston after a strong performance in Week 5. He allowed zero pressures against Miami and earned a 90.5 Pro Football Focus rating in pass-blocking. He also got praise from offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, who said he was “probably our best pass blocker on that edge.”
I caught up with Lowe after the news about Maye’s start broke, and he detailed the difference in blocking for the rookie, rather than for Jacoby Brissett.
“With a mobile quarterback, you never know what’s going on, on one side,” he said. “You never know if he’s scrambling to your side. The number one thing with a mobile quarterback and the offensive line play is just holding calls. The quarterback is scrambling outside of the pocket, and you not knowing, with the (defensive) end – you’re trying to grab (him). That’s the number one thing, just trying to make sure I’m great with my hands.”
Lowe also emphasized the importance of giving a rookie quarterback time in the passing game, and making sure Houston’s pressure doesn’t speed him up too much.
The line could continue to improve as the season goes on.
Guard Cole Strange is “starting to look like an NFL player,” according Mayo, who hinted the former first-round pick could return to practice relatively soon from the PUP list.
The Texans are fourth in the league in lowest average yards per passing attempt, with 5.9. They’re also a top-10 defense in sacks and have allowed the fifth fewest overall passing yards this season.
Drake Maye will have his hands full Sunday, but at least he’ll have a full fist in front of him.