I made it here on a stormy night for a sleepy second preseason game that happened to come alive when a certain rookie quarterback entered the fray. My five takeaways from a quick check-in at Gillette Stadium …
• The New England Patriots’ plan has been for Jacoby Brissett to at least start the season as the quarterback, and for Drake Maye to serve an apprenticeship that could wind up being a full redshirt year. As I see it, two things could shake that up. One, of course, would be Maye showing he’s not just the best option, but prepared to deal with being a week-in, week-out starting quarterback without the rigors of the season messing with his development. There’s a mental component to that and a mechanical component, too.
Two would be if Brissett, who’s beloved by teammates and the perfect guy to help a younger quarterback, shows he can’t move the offense more effectively, and with better tempo, than he has. He made a brutal decision in the red zone against the Philadelphia Eagles, and the offense isn’t running as smoothly as anyone would like behind either quarterback. Brissett’s a vet, so it’s fair to assume he’ll come out of what’s been a rough patch the past week or so. But the fact that it’s coincided with Maye’s steady progress starting to bear results at least makes things interesting. What the coaches really like about where Maye is now showed up last Thursday against Philly, where he showed he was calm and under control in the cockpit.
• I’m excited to see what Christian Gonzalez does in his second year. The Patriots have challenged him in camp, and the 2023 first-rounder is such a smooth-moving athlete that it can fool people—but he’s shown up locked in, and is playing with an urgency in how he’s finishing plays, while flashing the instincts and awareness he did last year. If he can evolve into a No. 1 corner, it’ll give first-year coordinator DeMarcus Covington some real flexibility in how he can generate a pass rush without Matthew Judon, who’s been traded to the Atlanta Falcons (to be fair, the Patriots didn’t have Judon for the final 13 games of last year, either). The big question with Gonzalez will be how his slim frame holds up physically through an NFL season, after he barely made it a month last year.
• The offensive line is where the biggest questions lie, and even now, with the opener three weeks away, where guys will line up is in flux. Mike Onwenu, whom the Patriots gave a big extension to this offseason, has spent most of the summer at guard, but could move out to right tackle. Fourth-rounder Layden Robinson—a really strong, aggressive guard who comes with an SEC pedigree—has emerged, and New England could move Onwenu outside to accommodate him. Meanwhile, Chukwuma Okorafor has gotten reps more recently at left tackle, after working a lot on the right side, with Vederian Lowe and third-rounder Caedan Wallace also in the mix there. At this point, the only real certainty seems to be that veteran bedrock David Andrews will be the center. One thing that should help manage the potential shuffling is Rhamondre Stevenson’s presence. The tailback showed up a little heavy last year, and it cost him. He looks leaner and quicker this year, and, with a new contract signed, has emerged as a confident leader for Jerod Mayo’s new program.
• With Judon gone, and Christian Barmore out indefinitely, the Patriots’ ability to generate pass rush will again be a question. But at the very least, they do have some depth in the position group Judon has vacated. Deatrich Wise Jr. is a proven commodity on the edge, Josh Uche is effective on passing downs and Keion White has put together another impressive summer, with the big question being, again, whether his considerable athletic gifts will translate to the game field in the regular season. Oshane Ximines is another one to watch there—he’s surprised the Patriots after coming over from the New York Giants and looks like he’ll have a spot in the rotation, having had a steady, consistent offseason from spring to summer.
• The Patriots will tell you that they believe they’re better than people think. Whether that proves out or not, the reality is a huge key for this year will be in how the young core comes along. And you can start with the rookies. Obviously, how Maye develops will be a massive determining factor in what becomes of the Mayo–Eliot Wolf tandem. But the rest of a promising rookie class will have a hand in that, too. And in particular, it’d be nice if the investments made on offense—from Maye to Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker at receiver, to Robinson and Wallace on the line—show signs that they’ll pay off long term by the end of the year, ahead of what should be another big draft for the franchise next spring.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Patriots Training Camp Takeaways: What it Would Take for Drake Maye to Start.
