Dan Orlovsky makes brutal prediction for Drake Maye's first New England Patriots start

Dan Orlovsky has blasted the New England Patriots' decision to throw rookie quarterback Drake Maye into the fire by naming him the starting quarterback.

No. 3 overall pick Maye will make his first NFL start against the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, replacing Jacoby Brissett, who led the Pats to a 1-4 start to the season. Brissett endured a bruising five games under center, playing behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league.

And that is just one reason why ESPN pundit and 12-year NFL veteran Orlovsky believes it is the wrong time for former North Carolina star Maye to cut his teeth in the league. He believes Maye is being set up to fail.

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"Absolutely not," Orlovsky said when asked if he agreed with the move. "This is a bad decision in New England. One, their offensive line is the worst pass-blocking offensive line in the NFL.

"Jacoby Brissett, who has been their starting quarterback, has been pressured on 47 per cent of their drop-back passes. That 47 per cent is the highest number for a quarterback since 2006.

"You want to take a rookie quarterback and set him up to struggle, put him behind this New England offensive line. On top of that, it's probably a bottom-five, bottom-six group wide receiver-wise when it comes to getting open.

"Young quarterbacks need a couple of things to go and play well and survive. They need to have a really good scheme and play-caller. Alex Van Pelt, I like his scheme and there are moments when he has shown to be a really good play-caller, but still unknown.

"[The other] is a really good offensive line and really good skill players. New has at least two of those three missing. This is not the right choice."

Head coach Jerod Mayo has been hesitant to put Maye on the field due to New England's issues in the trenches. His only significant action this season came late on in a blowout defeat to the New York Jets. But Mayo believes his rookie QB gives the Pats the best chance of turning their season around

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"I think now, Drake gives us the best chance to win now and going forward. He's been getting better every single week, as I've said before," Mayo said on Wednesday.

"At the end of training camp, he actually was trending at a very high rate. That has continued through the early part of the season. So, it was solely my decision to make this choice. I had a conversation one-on-one with Jacoby. I had a conversation with Drake. We're all on board.

"I would also say Jacoby is a warrior, and he took the news very well, like a professional, like you would expect from a guy like that."