FOXBORO, Mass. — Drake Maye was given the chance to compete for the New England Patriots starting quarterback position. The fact Maye split reps with veteran Jacoby Brissett on Day 1 of training camp, and saw more competitive snaps on Day 2, proved Jerod Mayo’s sentiments about competition to be true.
During the opening two or three pad-less practices, Maye looked like he could push Brissett. But that has since changed. Brissett gained initial separation on Day 5, New England’s first padded practice, and further distanced himself in the team’s second padded session.
Brissett’s advantage in the competition is rooted in his familiarity of the offense, including the footwork and mechanics, along with his ability to diagnosis defenses and coverages. Brissett has made more checks at the line of scrimmage than Maye, which have put the offense in better positions on both run and pass plays. They’re advantages Mayo expected Brissett would have over the rookie, who was lauded more for his potential than polish during the pre-draft process.
But Brissett also has proven himself as more than just an experience veteran. He’s had some impressive plays, including three of the best throws Tuesday.
Has he been perfect? No. Brissett has thrown some inaccurate passes, including an underthrown deep ball to Javon Baker during 1-on-1s, a throw behind Hunter Henry during the initial 11-on-11 period before consecutive overthrows to Tyquan Thornton and K.J. Osborn during red zone 7-on-7s on Tuesday. But he responded to those misfires with the nicest throw of the day to rookie wideout Ja’Lynn Polk, who elevated over cornerback Marco Wilson and caught a touchdown in the back corner of the end zone.
Brissett later connected with Henry on the first snap of red zone 11-on-11s, a well-placed ball down the seam which Henry dove for and caught for a touchdown. Brissett then found Osborn on an impressive pass during full field 11-on-11s — the main team period. Brissett’s toss gave Osborn the opportunity to run into his crosser route over the middle.
Those throws were few and far between in 2023.
Brissett and Maye each were 8-for-15 on Tuesday, but those stats don’t tell the whole story. Their overall stats don’t either. Brissett’s completions Tuesday came on intermediate to deep routes while Maye, as he has throughout the start, routinely completed check downs and short passes. Maye has not pushed the ball down field, another checkmark for Brissett thus far.
Brissett completed 12 of his 17 passes in competitive drills Monday while Maye was 3-for-11, per NESN.com colleague Keagan Stiefel. He found Baker, Polk and Thornton for explosive plays. He’s been much better since the pads came on.
Brissett does have another advantage over Maye, and it’s fair to question how it has impacted his individual success. Brissett is working behind the first-team offensive line consisting of, from left to right, Caedan Wallace, Sidy Sow, Nick Leverett, Mike Onwenu and Chukwuma Okorafor. Leverett started in place of center David Andrews (personal reasons) during the two padded practices. That group, while not perfect, has been far superior to the second-stringers in front of Maye.
Maye will continue to have opportunities to prove himself. But it’s difficult to envision the rookie beating out Brissett anytime soon. And that has as much to do with Brissett as it does with Maye.
