To The New England Patriots, Please Don't Play Drake Maye In 2024

One reason I, and countless others love the NFL is because it is the ultimate team sport.

One year, teams can go from being one of the worst in football to being a legitimate Super Bowl contender if they can hit on the quarterback and coach. One example being the Houston Texans, who would have predicted this time last year that some NFL experts would be picking them to win a Super Bowl in 2024 and it wouldn't sound outlandish.

The NFL truly is unpredictable.

That being said, one thing I am almost certain about entering the 2024 season is the New England Patriots are going to be bad. Like really bad, like 3-5 wins bad.

Unlike most teams who are bringing a new head coach, there usually is hope within a fanbase that the new guy will be better than the last. However, not all teams are bringing in a new head coach to replace the greatest coach of all time.

After a legendary twenty-four run, Bill Belichick and the Patriots "parted ways" in January after a disastrous 2023 season which resulted in a 4-13 record. No doubt Belichick still had his fastball on the defensive side of the ball, but the Patriots possibly produced the worst offence in the league last season and Belichick had not shown any signs in the post-Tom Brady era, that he could turn that unit around or support a young new quarterback.

Going into 2024, the Patriots have a new head coach in former linebacker for the Pats Jerod Mayo who served as an assistant on Belichick's staff since 2019, due to their horrendous 2023, New England held the third overall selection in April's draft where the team selected North Carolina quarterback, Drake Maye.

Before the draft, Maye was viewed as more of a project compared to the quarterbacks who went before Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels. Maye who stands at 6'4 and weighs 225 pounds has all the Josh Allen-esque physical tools in the world to be one of the premier quarterbacks in the league, but as we've seen a ton over the last decade, it doesn't matter how talented you are, if you do not enter an organization that can support a young quarterback.

Unfortunately for Maye, the Patriots still possess some of the worst skill position players on the offensive side of the ball, as well as an offensive line that finished 2023 giving up the 9th most sacks in the league.

Considering Maye's raw skill set and lack of talent on the Patriots offence, I hope New England takes a patient approach with their quarterback by sitting Maye all of 2024. Jacoby Brissett needs to be the quarterback in 2024 and if he goes down, you play either Joe Milton or Bailey Zappe. That is how committed I want New England to be to not playing him with this awful unit in 2024.

To be clear, I am not saying this because I don't believe in Maye. In fact, it's quite the opposite, Maye was my QB2 in this class behind Williams and I believe if he is developed properly, he could end up being the best one to come out of this class.

I think allowing Maye to sit behind Brissett in 2024 and learn the ropes of the NFL while New England likely secures another top-five pick in the draft which they could use to bring in a player who could help support Maye on the Patriots offence in 2025 (Travis Hunter anyone????).

Not to mention, the Patriots are also scheduled to have the most cap space in the NFL in the offseason where there will be great talent available such as receivers Stefon Diggs and Tee Higgins, as well as offensive linemen Cam Robinson and Garrett Bolles.

Times may be tough in Foxborough now but I believe as long as the Patriots allow Maye to develop in year one with a redshirt season, the Patriots should have their guy behind center for years to come in #10.