Former Patriots QB addresses Jacoby Brissett, Drake Maye decision

Former New England Patriots quarterback Brian Hoyer is among those who believe the club should and will start veteran signal-caller Jacoby Brissett over rookie Drake Maye this September.

"Jacoby is like a little brother to me," Hoyer explained during a recent appearance on the "NFL Live" program, as shared by Mike Reiss of ESPN. "We were teammates. We're friends. The Patriots signed Jacoby to be the starter right away, knowing they were drafting a quarterback with that pick, because he's capable and played a lot of football. He's very endearing to his teammates; they love him. He's the perfect guy to mentor Drake Maye."

New England made Maye the third overall choice of this year's draft, and the 21-year-old will begin training camp as the club's QB2 behind Brissett.

However, updates offered by reporters who watched the Patriots from organized team activities through mandatory minicamp suggested that Maye has at least some chance to win the starting job before New England finishes the preseason versus the Washington Commanders on Aug. 25.

New England hopes the combination of Brissett and new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt will help Maye reach his advertised ceiling even if the first-year pro sits throughout this coming fall.

Meanwhile, Hoyer noted that first-year head coach Jerod Mayo is "somebody that can relate to this younger generation" as a former New England starter who played under previous head coach Bill Belichick.

"Jerod coming right after Bill -- he learned from Bill, but he's also bridging that gap to the youth," Hoyer added during the show segment. "He has his own flavor and personality. Talking to some of the guys [with the team now], they love the way he's approaching it. You just have to carry that over to wins during the season."

That last part may prove to be difficult for Mayo considering the Patriots need more than a single offseason to complete their ongoing roster rebuild.

As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had New England at +165 betting odds to win over 5.5 games for the 2024 campaign.

Such forecasts have caused some to say that Mayo needs to start Brissett for Week 1 if only to prevent Maye from possibly losing some confidence while featuring for what likely will be a losing team.