NFL Rumors: Patriots' Drake Maye Could Sit Behind Early QB1 Favorite Jacoby Brissett

Veteran Jacoby Brissett is reportedly the early favorite to begin the 2024 NFL season as the New England Patriots' starting quarterback over rookie first-round pick Drake Maye.

During an appearance Saturday morning on SportsCenter, ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler spoke on the Pats' quarterback situation, saying:

"I talked to a source with the team who said: 'Look, we're not going to hold Drake Maye back when he's ready to play, but we do recognize that he needs some work.' That this is somebody who needs to get acclimated to the pro game, that could take some time. So they're going to be prepared to play Jacoby Brissett, the veteran, to at least start the season. Certainly, they're going to let it all play out, but I would say right now, early, early, Brissett will be the favorite."

New England signed Brissett to a one-year, $8 million contract in free agency this offseason before making Maye the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft out of North Carolina.

New England is coming off its worst season since 1992, as the Patriots went 4-13 last season, leading to the organization parting ways with legendary, six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Belichick.

Replacing Belichick with Jerod Mayo signified the start of a new era, and one of the first big moves of the new era was making Maye the third overall pick in the draft.

Maye was the third quarterback off the board behind Caleb Williams to the Chicago Bears and Jayden Daniels to the Washington Commanders, but he undoubtedly has the skills to potentially be the best quarterback in the class if he can put it all together at the next level.

In 2022, Maye burst onto the scene for the Tar Heels, completing 66.2 percent of his passes for 4,321 yards, 38 touchdowns and seven interceptions, while also rushing for 698 yards and seven scores.

Although Williams won the Heisman Trophy that season at USC, Maye was named the ACC Player of the Year, putting him in the conversation to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft.

Maye's production took a notable dip last season, though, as he completed 63.3 percent of his passing attempts for 3,608 yards, 24 touchdowns and nine picks to go along with 449 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground.

Along with Williams, Daniels surpassed Maye in the quarterback pecking order after winning the Heisman Trophy at LSU last season, but New England still thought enough of Maye to take him third overall.

While investing such an early pick in a quarterback means the expectation is that he will start in the near future, the presence of Brissett means the Patriots don't have to hurry Maye along.

Brissett spent his first NFL season in New England in 2016, and he has been something of a journeyman since then, playing for the Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns and Commanders as both a starter and a backup.

The 31-year-old veteran is just 18-30 in 48 career starts, but his numbers are solid, as he has completed 61.3 percent of his passes for 10,574 yards, 51 touchdowns and 23 interceptions.

His most extensive recent playing time came in 2022 with the Browns when he started 11 games while Deshaun Watson was suspended. Brissett played well, throwing for 2,608 yards, 12 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Regardless of who starts in 2024, the Patriots are not expected to contend for a playoff spot in a stacked AFC East inhabited by the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins and New York Jets.

Because of that, it may behoove the Pats to allow Maye to sit and learn behind Brissett at first before easing him into the lineup once it becomes clear that the playoffs are no longer realistic.

Of course, Maye could change all of that and start right out of the gates if he manages to light it up during the preseason.