The Patriots are bound to experience some rough patches now that they’ve handed the reins to Drake Maye — but it doesn’t have to be all bad.
Maye quickly displayed his gunslinging mentality during his starting debut last Sunday against the Houston Texans, accounting for disastrous misses as well as some awe-inspiring hits. It’s honestly impressive that one man can be responsible for both the interception he threw at the conclusion of the first quarter and his touchdown connection with second-year wide receiver Kayshon Boutte right before halftime.
Maye’s talent was never in question, though. It’s all about eliminating throws like the former and developing the little things that lead to sustained success.
New England, in the end, should find that the positives outweigh the negatives when it comes to having a 22-year-old starter. Maye is inexperienced, sure, but that comes with a few advantages that should be capitalized upon.
QUICK TRIGGER
Maye has something his new fanbase hasn’t experienced much of at the quarterback position over the last three decades — which is above-average athleticism. Cam Newton still had some juice during his lone season in 2020, but the next closest thing to “athletic” that we’ve seen was Matt Cassell running around like a chicken with his head cut off in 2008.
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The Patriots should take advantage of the fact that they can implement the 22-year-old’s ability to tuck the ball and run.
Maye rushed for 38 yards in his debut against Houston and racked up a rather astonishing 1,147 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground in his two seasons as a full-time starter at UNC. He can move! New England’s makeshift offensive line inevitably will break down, but there’s little doubt the rookie will keep drives alive on a more consistent basis than Jacoby Brissett did.
NO BIAS
The Jets currently are dealing with some pretty major issues, and they’re ones that come exclusively from having a veteran quarterback, as Aaron Rodgers’ inability to develop relationships with his entire receiving corps has led to panic trades (Davante Adams), vapid offseason additions (Randall Cobb, Allen Lazard, Mike Williams) and hurt feelings among those who aren’t given opportunities (Malachi Corley) across the last two seasons. Williams, for instance, couldn’t crack the code and become one of Rodgers’ bobos, so he was left on the receiving end of a public call-out because he didn’t read something the same way as his impossible-to-please quarterback.
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The Patriots even dealt with something similar during Tom Brady’s last season with the club in 2019, as he actively avoided the likes of Jakobi Meyers and N’Keal Harry because he knew wasting time on their development wasn’t going to help him moving forward
Rodgers and Brady have zero tolerance for incorporating new talent, and that comes with proving yourself for a couple decades, but someone like Maye needs to develop these relationships if he hopes to find success. New England is bad, but at least it isn’t that dramatic.
HE DOESN’T KNOW BETTER
Maye possesses one of the strongest things on the planet: the confidence of a 22-year-old professional athlete.
Maye has a good head on his shoulders, yes, but there’s a certain foolishness that comes with the territory of being extremely successful at such a young age. New England should take advantage of that, by not only putting him in positions to succeed but empowering him to fail while ensuring he has the support of the franchise. The NFL is an imperfect league, and far too often young players believe they’re unequipped to succeed based on early failures. The Patriots need to ensure that those failures, which are bound to come, don’t have the same impact on Maye that they did on Mac Jones.
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Irish author Samuel Beckett said it best: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.”
Featured image via Tommy Gilligan/USA TODAY Sports Images
