FOXBOROUGH – For most of training camp, Jacoby Brissett seemed like an absolute lock to be the Week 1 starter against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The veteran quarterback looked the part, making plays and showing good command of Alex Van Pelt’s offense. Brissett gave no reason to believe that wasn’t the plan.
It still might be, but there’s another storyline developing.
With one preseason game left Sunday in Washington, and 20 days between now and the season opening kickoff at Paycor Stadium, Brissett no longer has a death grip on the job.
Drake Maye is coming on like a freight train. He’s making it a legitimate competition. His footsteps are very real in wake of his outing Thursday night against the Philadelphia Eagles, and the steps he’s taken since.
He had another impressive showing during Day 16 of training camp on Sunday. He looks so much more in command, and more decisive than he had been in previous weeks. Brissett, meanwhile, has struggled of late.
The indecision that had plagued Maye earlier, has now enveloped Brissett. He’s hit a rough patch, while Maye has taken off.
The rookie quarterback’s improvement has been hugely noticeable to anyone watching in recent weeks. More important, it’s been noted by the players. They’ve seen it up close.
Listening to veteran wideout K.J. Osborn speak so glowingly about Maye following Sunday’s workout, rave about his instincts, his ball placement on “opportunity” balls, and general feel for the game for someone so young, it’s apparent the No. 3 overall pick has made an impression on his teammates.
“Drake has a different type of confidence and leadership,” Osborn said. “He’s a rookie so he’s still learning, but he’s also a quarterback and a very smart guy. His locker is next to me and (Brissett), so he asks me questions and we talk. He’s definitely progressing.”
Winning over his receivers is one thing. The braintrust is another.
How Jerod Mayo, Eliot Wolf, Van Pelt, Ben McAdoo and the Krafts feel about the quarterback and his timetable to play in regular season games will ultimately tell the story.
To this point, Maye hasn’t taken any reps with the projected starting offense. He hasn’t made the leap of Brissett just yet.
But he’s knocking on the door. Maye is making a run, and it’s going to be interesting to see how it plays out in the next few weeks.
Is he truly forcing the envelope, and pushing a different narrative, or is the braintrust locked in with Brissett no matter what?
Mayo says Maye is still in the running for the starting job. He continues to bill it as a competition, and if Maye outplays Brissett, he’ll be the starter.
As for Wolf, who met with the media Sunday for the first time since the NFL Draft, he wasn’t quite as direct.
Asked how close he thought Maye was to playing, the team’s executive vice president of player personnel hedged.
“We’ll have to see,” Wolf answered. “He didn’t get a lot of snaps … in the first game. He did pretty well in the snaps the other night. It’s all about building on those successes and seeing where it goes.”
Working against the North Carolina product is time. He still might not have enough practice days and game reps to further iron out issues, and legitimately pass Brissett. Sunday’s game with the Commanders is the final preseason game. Teams typically have the starting quarterback set at that point.
Then, there’s the ongoing worry known as the offensive line.
Maye didn’t get a lot of snaps in the first preseason game against Carolina, in part, because the Patriots didn’t trust the backup offensive line. Mayo said as much after the game.
The first unit also hasn’t distinguished itself. Both tackle positions are unsettled. Offensive line coach Scott Peters has been playing musical chairs of late, swapping in different alignments at both tackle and guard trying to come up with a winning formula.
Wolf, meanwhile, gave the impression he was “comfortable” with the group and it’s just a matter of finding the right combination.
“We’re excited about our offensive line group,” Wolf said Sunday. “We’re still working to find the correct combination in there, and I think we have the pieces in place to be able to compete.”
Naturally, Wolf isn’t going to speak poorly about the free agent tackle he signed (Chuks Okorafor) or the tackle he drafted (Caedan Wallace). He’s not going to openly badmouth the line he put together. And he’s not going to question having Michael Onwenu, his best lineman, the one he paid a ton of money to presumably play tackle, moved inside to guard.
If Wolf doesn’t find help for the O-line, it really doesn’t matter who’s playing quarterback. Whether it’s Brissett or Maye, he won’t be upright for very long.
It should be noted the Patriots higher ups are still suffering from the aftershocks of seeing the destruction of Mac Jones up close. Several factors weighed into his demise. A porous offensive line was one of them. The Patriots don’t want to make the same mistake again, so they’re going to tread cautiously with a rookie quarterback.
That said, it’s still great to see Maye make a late push. It’s encouraging that he’s made what was once considered a slam-dunk decision not so certain.
The notion of him leap-frogging Brissett to be the Week 1 starter isn’t quite as far-fetched as it once appeared. It would still be surprising, but certainly not a shock given the way he’s come on in recent days.
