Patriots OC Leaves Door Open for Drake Maye to Land Starting QB Job

The New England Patriots are one of the teams that selected a quarterback early in the 2024 NFL Draft, as they took form UNC quarterback Drake Maye with the No. 3 overall pick. Despite Maye going so high in the draft, he is not a lock to become the starter for the team.

More news: Patriots Are ‘Nearing’ Naming Starting Quarterback for 2024

Longtime veteran Jacoby Brissett is the presumed starter, but the Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt has stated that Maye has been impressing through training camp.

Van Pelt spoke to Boston Herald’s Zack Cox about the progress of Maye, stating, “(Maye has) taken steps forward every single day, and that’s the big thing,” Van Pelt said. “There’s no regression. He’s taking what he’s learned from the previous practices and applying it to the next practice. He’s been really impressive, the last few weeks especially.”

Maye has had all of minicamp and training camp to make a name for himself, and it appears that he is now starting to show why he was drafted so high.

Maye will still have a preseason game to ensure he has a better shot at landing the starting job, but Van Pelt has indicated that the completion between Maye and Brissett is still going.

“Right now, [Brissett is] our starting quarterback,” Van Pelt said. “The good news is this week we get to play everybody. We’re still in the evaluation process. We have one more preseason game, and our guys are going to play, so we’ll have a chance to evaluate them.”

It took the Denver Broncos a bit to name rookie Bo Nix as their starting quarterback, and the same could happen with the Patriots. However, Brissett is still the lead starter right now.

The Patriots will face the Washington Commanders in their final preseason game on Sunday, Aug. 25. Maye is likely to get the start, and it will be his final time to push Van Pelt and head coach Jerod Mayo into rolling with him for the 2024 season.

Maye still has a shot to be named starter, but he will need to play lights out against the Commanders to ensure that happens. It will be a long shot, but at least Van Pelt has left the door open for the rookie.

Should Maye be named the starter for the Patriots, he will join Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, and Broncos quarterback Bo Nix as rookies who will be leading their offenses.