Drake Maye has made a serious push to pass Jacoby Brissett on the New England Patriots' quarterback depth chart over the past two weeks.
But Alex Van Pelt splashed a little cold water on the Maye hype train Thursday.
When asked what's holding him back from giving the No. 3 overall pick more reps with New England's starting offense, Van Pelt gave a straightforward response.
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"Jacoby. Right now he's our starting quarterback," Van Pelt replied.
Van Pelt insisted the QB competition is very much open, and that there's "a chance" Maye could overtake Brissett if he plays well in the Patriots' preseason finale against the Washington Commanders on Sunday. But the veteran offensive coordinator prefers playing the long game with Maye rather than rushing him into action.
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"I'm sure there's a chance (Maye could become the starter), but I think as you go in, there's still a process of how you bring a rookie quarterback along," Van Pelt said. "So I think that's important to remember as well.
"There's certain things in this offense that Jacoby, having played in this offense, understands some of the tools you can use to get you out of certain situations, pressure situations, things like that, that Drake is still learning.
"He has really been impressive the last two weeks in practice and in the game, and he's moving in the right direction, for sure. But again, a rookie quarterback coming in and playing -- obviously Jacoby has tons of experience, not just in the NFL but in this system, and we've won games with him in Cleveland, so I feel comfortable with his understanding (of the offense)."
Van Pelt was Brissett's offensive coordinator on the Cleveland Browns in 2022, so there's familiarity between the OC and QB that gives Brissett an extra leg up on Maye, in addition to his eight seasons of overall NFL experience. But Brissett has struggled this preseason, throwing an interception in the end zone in last week's preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles and throwing another pick Wednesday during an inconsistent practice session.
Van Pelt insists there's more than meets the eye with Brissett's struggles, however.
"It looks different sometimes than what you see," Van Pelt said. "Things happen differently in the game. We had a route that wasn't run correctly before the interception (against Philly) that would have hopefully walked into the end zone for us, then we're not even talking about it right now."
If Maye continues to outplay Brissett in practices and in Sunday's preseason finale, he could force Van Pelt's hand; after all, head coach Jerod Mayo insisted the best quarterback will play, regardless of his resume.
From Van Pelt's perspective, though, it sounds like he'd rather not start Maye in Week 1 unless things completely go off the rails for Brissett.
"(Quarterback is) the hardest position in sports," Van Pelt said. "Especially for a rookie guy coming in and not seeing all the defenses that they're going to see in the NFL, it's tough. It's hard to transition in, and it takes a little bit of time. So, we're going to be as patient as we can with that process."