Could Drake Maye win Patriots starting QB job? Jerod Mayo leaves door open after encouraging preseason showing

Don’t count Drake Maye out from starting Week 1 just yet. In the hours following an encouraging performance in New England’s Week 2 preseason loss to the Eagles on Thursday night, coach Jerod Mayo left the door open for the No. 3 overall pick to unseat Jacoby Brissett as the team’s starter out of the gate. 

“I do,” Mayo said Friday morning when asked if he still looks at his QB situation as a competition for who will start Week 1 against Cincinnati. “We have three more days of training camp practices, and it’s our job as coaches to evaluate. The competition isn’t over. They’re still going to go out there, and they have to show not only themselves and their coaches but also their teammates. So, it’s definitely still a competition.” 

When asked later during his presser if Maye could see work with the first team over those final three practices, Mayo said, “We’ll see. We’ll have a staff meeting later on today, and that decision will be made. I do think he definitely showed improvement yesterday as a whole, and we’ll see what happens going forward.”

A few days after the game, Mayo’s stance remained the same, saying, via NBC Sports, “We still don’t know right now. We have another preseason game, and then a week after that. When I know, I’ll let you know.”

He complimented the progress Maye has made so far and said the goal is to continue on that path.

“Right now it’s all going the right way, right direction, and hopefully he continues to get better,” Mayo said.

Simply looking at Thursday’s preseason game, Maye did outperform Brissett. The veteran got the start but wasn’t particularly efficient. Sandwiched between two three-and-outs, Brissett threw an interception in the end zone that erased a scoring opportunity. After three series with Brissett, Maye came into the fold and led two straight scoring drives. The second concluded with a 4-yard rushing touchdown by the rookie just after the two-minute warning. 

“I think every time you get out there you get more and more confident,” Maye said postgame on Thursday night. “First off, it’s always going to be the nerves, getting out and running out there the first time. But other than that, more reps are only going to help me. At the end of the day, I’m just fortunate to be able to get out there get some reps, and make the most of my opportunities.”

While the door may be open for Maye to ascend to the starter on the depth chart before Week 1, one could argue that the offensive line — which continued to struggle on Thursday — should be solidified before thrusting the rookie under center. However, Mayo did note after the game that the play along the offensive line would not impede Maye’s chances of being named the starter.