Ahead of Drake Maye’s first start, here’s how other Patriots QBs performed in first NFL starts

Maye will become the sixth quarterback to make his first NFL start with the Patriots since 2001.

The Drake Maye era has arrived in Foxborough.

Maye will make his first NFL start when the Patriots host the Texans on Sunday. He’ll become the sixth quarterback the Patriots have started since Tom Brady left in 2020. He’s the third rookie quarterback to make his first start over that stretch.

As Maye prepares for his first of likely many starts of his career Sunday, let’s take a trip down memory lane to see how other Patriots quarterbacks performed in their first NFL start. If your expectations for Maye on Sunday were high, they might be recalibrated after seeing how other notable Patriots quarterbacks played in their first professional start.

Bailey Zappe (2022)

Zappe made his NFL debut in the Patriots’ overtime loss to the Packers in Week 4 of the 2022 season, replacing Brian Hoyer after he got concussed in the first quarter of that game. After throwing for just 99 yards against the Packers, Zappe had an efficient day against the Lions in his first NFL start. He completed 17 of 21 passes for 188 yards, a touchdown, and an interception, although the interception was a dropped pass by Nelson Agholor.

The performance from Zappe was not only good enough to lead the Patriots to a 29-0 win over the Lions, but it also caused a quarterback controversy. Zappe threw for over 300 yards in the following game, leading the Patriots to another win before Mac Jones returned from an ankle injury. However, Zappe came off the bench against the Bears in Week 7, replacing a struggling Jones and threw two interceptions himself. He didn’t play in a game again in his rookie season.

Mac Jones (2021)

Prior to Maye, Jones was the most recent quarterback the Patriots took with a first-round pick to start a game for the team. His first dropback might have been one of the worst ever first dropbacks for a rookie quarterback, tossing the ball backward as he faced pressure. The Patriots were able to hop on the ball, but Jones was credited for taking a 13-yard sack on the play.

Jones settled in after that, showing some promise in his first start against the Dolphins. He completed 29 of 39 passes for 281 yards and a touchdown. Jones’s 281 yards are the most thrown ever by a Patriots quarterback in his first NFL start and the 18th most thrown by a rookie in his first NFL game. Jones wound up throwing for 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions to help New England reach the playoffs, but his career in New England petered out after his rookie season.

Jacoby Brissett (2016)

Before he opened the 2024 season as the Patriots’ starting quarterback, Brissett served as New England’s starter for a pair of games in the 2016 season due to Tom Brady’s suspension and an injury to Jimmy Garoppolo.

On a short week, the third-round rookie Brissett helped guide the Patriots to a 27-0 win against the Texans. He didn’t have the most spectacular stats, completing 11 of 19 passes for 103 yards. But he had an electrifying 27-yard touchdown run in the first quarter that invigorated the Gillette Stadium crowd.

Brissett actually tore a ligament in the thumb of his throwing hand in that game. But he started again in the following week, completing 17 of 27 passes for 205 yards in a 16-0 loss to the Bills.

Jimmy Garoppolo (2016)

Two years after getting drafted in the second round by the Patriots, Garoppolo finally got his first crack at starting in an NFL game when Brady received a four-game suspension for his role in the Deflategate scandal.

Even though the Patriots went up against a Cardinals team that lost in the NFC Championship Game in the previous season, they didn’t miss much of a beat with Garoppolo in for Brady. He completed 24 of 33 passes for a touchdown in a 23-21 win over the Cardinals. Garoppolo led the Patriots to a game-winning drive in the final minutes of that game, setting Stephen Gostkowski up to kick a game-deciding 32-yard field goal.

Garoppolo was even better in Week 2, completing 18 of 26 passes for 232 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-24 win over the Dolphins. That wound up being his final start with the Patriots as he was traded to the 49ers in the middle of the 2017 season.

Matt Cassel (2008)

When Tom Brady went down with an ACL tear in Week 1 of the 2008 season, the Patriots opted to go with Cassel as their starting quarterback and not bring in a more accomplished player. The fourth-year seventh-round pick rewarded the Patriots with a strong season, but his first NFL start was relatively pedestrian. He completed 16 of 23 passes for 165 yards in a 19-10 win over the Jets.

Cassel wound up throwing for 3,693 yards, 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions that season. While the Patriots didn’t make the postseason, Cassel helped them win 11 games and earned himself a hefty payday when he was traded to the Chiefs in the following offseason for a second-round pick

Tom Brady (2001)

After taking over for an injured Drew Bledsoe in the Patriots’ Week 2 loss of the 2001 season, Brady became their full-time starting quarterback in Week 3 and didn’t relinquish that role for nearly two decades. Even though Brady’s first start marked the start of a historic run, he wasn’t spectacular that day. He completed 13 of 23 passes for 168 yards and didn’t throw for a touchdown.

However, Brady didn’t need to be spectacular that day The Patriots crushed the Colts, 44-13, which was also the first game of Brady’s legendary rivalry with Peyton Manning. Even though Brady didn’t throw or rush for a touchdown in that game, he led the Patriots to five scoring drives.

Drew Bledsoe (1993)

Just months after the Patriots took him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1993 NFL Draft, Bledsoe was tabbed to start at quarterback in Week 1 for a team that won two games in the previous season. Going up against the then three-time defending AFC champion Bills, the Patriots had a result you would have expected, losing 38-14. Bledsoe didn’t have a remarkable performance, either. He completed just 14 of 30 passes for 148 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception.

Bledsoe seemingly got better as his rookie season progressed. He wound up leading the Patriots to five wins in the 13 games he’s started, throwing for 2,494 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions.

Tony Eason (1983)

After he was selected by the Patriots with the 15th overall pick in the 1983 NFL Draft, Eason made his first career start in Week 13 of that season. He had a poor outing against the Jets, completing 13 of 27 interceptions for 157 yards and an interception in a 27-3 loss.

Eason wasn’t spectacular for the rest of his rookie season (557 passing yards, one passing touchdown, five interceptions in four games), but he became the Patriots’ full-time starting quarterback by the 1984 season. He briefly lost that role in the middle of the 1985 season, but regained his spot as the starter later that year, helping the Patriots reach Super Bowl XX.

Steve Grogan (1975)

Grogan, a fifth-round pick in the 1975 NFL Draft, made his first start in Week 7 of his rookie season as he replaced Jim Plunkett. He had a less-than-stellar day, completing just 14 of 34 passes for 173 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions in a 24-17 loss to the Cardinals.

The rest of Grogan’s rookie season wasn’t that great, either. He threw for 1,976 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 18 intercepts while the Patriots went 1-6 in the seven games he started. Still, Grogan wound up becoming the Patriots’ primary starting quarterback for nearly the next decade, helping the team achieve a little postseason success before losing his job to Eason.

Jim Plunkett (1971)

Plunkett immediately became the Patriots starting quarterback after they took him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1971 NFL Draft. He only completed 6 of 15 passes for that day, but he had 127 passing yards and two touchdowns to help the Patriots beat a Raiders team that played in the AFC Championship Game in the previous season.

Plunkett had a pretty solid rookie season, throwing for 2,158 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions to win AFC Rookie of the Year. That ended up being the high mark of Plunkett’s time in New England as he struggled over the next four seasons before being traded to the 49ers in 1976. He eventually had a career revival when he joined the Raiders a couple of years after that, helping them win a pair of Super Bowl titles.