Drake Maye's Patriots preseason debut was very anticlimatic, and it's even stranger in a historical context.
Head coach Jerod Mayo told reporters after New England's win over the Carolina Panthers that the quarterback usage went exactly as planned. Maye played one series in the first quarter before Bailey Zappe came on to play the majority of the exhibition matchup.
The Gilette Stadium crowd turned on Zappe when he came on for Maye, and while Mayo's logic was understandable, it's also fair for fans to feel disappointed to get so little from the 2024 third-overall pick -- Maye went 2-for-3 for 19 yards in his lone drive Thursday night.
But how does this compare to other first-round quarterbacks? Was Maye's usage an outlier, or were the Patriots following trends from other signal-callers? Let's take a look at how much each first-round QB from the last three draft classes played in their first preseason game.
2023
Bryce Young: Played three drives and went 4-for-6 for 21 yards.
C.J. Stroud: Played two series completing 2-of-4 passes for 15 yards with an interception.
Anthony Richardson: Played three series completing 7-of-12 passes for 67 yards with an interception.
2022
Kenny Pickett: Played one series and went 6-of-7 for 70 yards and threw one touchdown.
2021
Trevor Lawrence: Played the entire first quarter and first drive of the second quarter completing 6-for-12 passes for 95 yards plus a touchdown and one rush for 11 yards.
Zach Wilson: Played two drives completing 6-of-9 passes for 63 yards.
Trey Lance: Played two series finishing with 4-of-5 completed passes for 92 yards and a touchdown
Justin Fields: Played two quarters completing 14-of-20 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown.
Mac Jones: Played five series completing 13-of-19 passes for 47 yards.
Pickett was the lone quarterback out of the group to only play one series, but he impressed and convinced fans he'd be the next guy for the Pittsburgh Steelers. You go back to the Jones era, and Bill Belichick gave him a decent enough leash that was the start of him eventually surpassing Cam Newton as the starter.
Maye's usage Thursday was a clear outlier compared to other top quarterbacks of the past. Mayo might see more value in next Tuesday's joint practice with the Philadelphia Eagles. New England might swerve everyone and play Maye more in the second preseason game.
