Drake Maye will start the season as the backup quarterback for the New England Patriots behind veteran Jacoby Brissett. Even with the time he will watch from the sidelines during games, his development has to be the top priority for the future of the franchise.
As has been the case for most of his first few months in Foxboro, head coach Jerod Mayo shared his vision for the development of the potential franchise quarterback for the Patriots.
"We talk about competition in training camp," Mayo told reporters, per team-provided video. "Quite frankly, it's competition each and every week. We'll see how it goes. Once again, I don't want Jacoby to feel like someone's nipping at his heels. He'll get the majority of the reps. At the same time, continuing to develop Drake in other ways."
When Mayo joined the Patriots as a player back in 2008, also as a top-10 draft choice as he reminded the media on Monday, he spoke to the value of practice reps and helping give his teammates other looks. That will apply in Maye's rookie season as well.
"He will still participate in some of the team drills for the upcoming team," Mayo said. "I also think show team reps are very important. They've always been an important."
In addition to each practice, Mayo and the offensive coaching staff plan to entrust Maye with various preparation projects.
"If you can teach it, you have a true understanding of the game plan," Mayo said. "... He'll have certain projects and things like that that he'll be responsible for. In saying that, he'll still go through a normal game week each and every week. That's how it's going to be as of today."
The Patriots start the 2024 NFL season on Sunday in Cincinnati against the Bengals.
