Trying To Make Sense Of Drake Maye Behind Bailey Zappe In Patriots QB Snaps

FOXBORO, Mass. -- Is it mysitifying? Sure. But there's no reason to be concerned about Drake Maye getting third-team reps behind New England Patriots veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett and incumbent Bailey Zappe.

Yet, anyway.

Patriots first-year head coach Jerod Mayo believes Maye is getting enough reps. Whether those snaps come with the ones, twos or threes when the calendar reads May, well, Mayo and company aren't stressed about it.

"It’s not how many opportunities, it’s what you do with the opportunities that you get," Mayo said before New England's fourth OTA practice at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday.

During the two open-to-media sessions, Maye has served as the third-stringer behind Brissett and Zappe. On Wednesday, Brissett was the clear headliner in competitive 11-on-11s. Maye benefited from being the only quarterback on one of the two Gillette Stadium practice fields and thus got more work during 7-on-7s. Brissett and Zappe shared the other field at the time. Zappe, though, received more 11-on-11 snaps than Maye due to the same reason.

Maye received more Wednesday than he did on Day 1 of OTAs due to the absence of Joe Milton III. But Zappe riding shotgun with Maye in the back still feels odd.

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It begs the question: Why do New England's decision-makers feel they should go about it that way?

The obvious reason is the Patriots don't want to just hand the rookie(s) the top reps. It's been the same on the offensive line -- Caedan Wallace is working with the twos -- and wide receivers. Should Maye, Wallace along with wideouts Ja'Lynn Polk and Javon Baker immediately see first-team reps, it wouldn't go over well among veterans in the locker room. That wouldn't be earning it, after all.

On the other hand, don't the veterans understand the situation? Don't the players catching passes from Zappe, who's well-liked in the locker room, understand Maye will be the backup in short order? And if so, doesn't that feel like time wasted to build chemistry? Could it even feel like a bit of a sham? Maybe Patriots veterans even view Maye as the better player already.

There's also the case that the Patriots don't want to throw too much at Maye right off the bat. Training wheels. They're already working diligently on his footwork, which was said to be a concern in the pre-draft process, as well as other aspects of his mechanics. Given the staff is taking Maye to do so, there's a chance maybe they are making a different aspect easier on him.

Another reason for the line of thinking might be because Patriots decision-makers are protecting themselves from a worst-case scenario, like a preseason injury to Brissett. Should Brissett go down on the first snap of mandatory minicamp, or training camp this summer, New England surely wouldn't want that to change the developmental plan for Maye. They're playing the long game, and that makes sense. Such a scenario then could mean Zappe slides in as a lesser bridge QB while the Patriots ramp up Maye for a month or so.

Mayo agreed the situation might be "awkward" for Zappe given the Patriots completely overhauled the room. It might be awkward for the first-time decision-making duo of Eliot Wolf and Mayo, too.

But if the Patriots get to a point in training camp and Zappe is receiving more reps with better players than Maye, well, that's where things have gone too far. We're not at that point yet, though. So while it might feel strange and confusing to see Zappe over Maye, it's not a cause for concern.

Yet, anyway.