Insiders discuss if Patriots could start Drake Maye over Jacoby Brissett in Week 1

Former NFL quarterback and current analyst Robert Griffin III argued ahead of this past weekend that the New England Patriots should scrap their original plans and name rookie Drake Maye their Week 1 QB1 over veteran Jacoby Brissett even though the Patriots seemingly lack talent at wide receiver and on their offensive line.

For a piece published on Monday, Chad Graff of The Athletic suggested New England should start Maye in part because of those issues.

"The offensive line is a weakness," Graff noted. "Not many receivers can consistently get open. So the quarterback needs to be able to buy time and occasionally reset the pocket. Maye can do that. His athleticism was obvious in Thursday’s preseason game when he scrambled and bought time for receivers."

From New England's first springtime workout through the start of last Thursday's exhibition matchup versus the Philadelphia Eagles, Brissett sat comfortably atop the depth chart as Maye struggled to cement himself as the club's full-time QB2. However, Maye then thoroughly outperformed Brissett against Philadelphia and, in the process, extended the team's competition for the starting job through this coming Sunday's preseason finale at the Washington Commanders.

"They ran a run-pass option," Graff wrote about the Patriots' game plan against Philadelphia. "They had Maye in shotgun more. They called for a zone read inside the five-yard line, incorporating the quarterback run game. Those are all areas in which Maye is stronger than Brissett."

Meanwhile, Karen Guregian of MassLive pointed out on Monday that teammates such as wide receiver K.J. Osborn have noticed Maye's improvement "in recent weeks." On Sunday, Osborn told reporters that the 21-year-old "has a different type of confidence and leadership" and is "definitely progressing" from where he was at the start of training camp.

Those comments shouldn't be ignored considering players inside the Patriots locker room know outsiders think the team is "tanking" following the trade of star pass-rusher Matthew Judon to the Atlanta Falcons.

"The notion of [Maye] leap-frogging Brissett to be the Week 1 starter isn’t quite as far-fetched as it once appeared," Guregian wrote. "It would still be surprising, but certainly not a shock given the way he’s come on in recent days."

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and New York Giants legend Eli Manning recently spoke out in favor of teams immediately starting rookie quarterbacks acquired via high draft picks. While Graff thinks that Maye, the third overall choice of this year's player-selection process, will begin New England's Week 1 game at the Bengals on the bench, Graff also believes Brissett will "have less leeway" than thought as of last Thursday morning.

The Patriots play at the New York Jets on Thursday, Sept. 19 , and will then have some extra time to prepare for the Week 4 contest at the San Francisco 49ers on Sept. 29. As much as first-year head coach Jerod Mayo may not want Maye to make his official debut against what could be the best overall team in the NFL, history shows that clubs often use gaps in schedules to make quarterback changes.

The Patriots' bye doesn't arrive until Week 14 in December.