Where ESPN Ranks Patriots’ Drake Maye Among Backup QBs

ESPN believes the Patriots roster the best backup quarterback in all of football.

Analytics expert Seth Walder on Thursday released a power ranking of all 32 QB2s across the league. Walder awarded the No. 1 spot to Maye, who arguably is more talented than New England's current starter, Jacoby Brissett.

"I'm high on first-round rookies because the mean expectation for them in Year 1 is a below-average starter with upside," Walder wrote. "That's a pretty favorable assessment compared to the rest of this list. The expectation is particularly high for Maye, a high-end prospect selected with the No. 3 overall pick in April. He threw for 62 touchdown passes and 16 interceptions over 26 starts at North Carolina.

"Normally I'd hold not winning the job in training camp against him, but he had solid competition in Jacoby Brissett and Patriots coach Jerod Mayo even said Maye outplayed Brissett in the summer. This was more about giving Maye time to develop and putting him in a position to succeed. Given all that, I'm putting Maye at No. 1."

It remains to be seen how much longer Maye will hold a clipboard for the Patriots. A recent report indicated Brissett would need to start winning games to keep his job, and Maye's insertion into New England's Week 3 blowout loss ensured Mayo and company aren't afraid to put the 22-year-old on the field.

Maye also is very confident he can handle the role, so the highly anticipated transition in Foxboro, Mass. might go through sooner rather than later.