FOXBORO — Drake Maye is healthy enough to play, and so the plan is for him to play Thursday night against the Panthers, head coach Jerod Mayo said Tuesday.
How much? And with whom? That remains to be seen. But the answers to those questions could end up being the most fascinating coaching decisions of the night for Mayo and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt.
Expected starter Jacoby Brissett doesn’t look like a player who needs an inordinate amount of preseason reps to get ready for Week 1. He’s experienced. He’s experienced in this scheme. And he’s performed well in camp. He’s a known commodity.
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Maye could use the seasoning, but he’s also the future face of the franchise in New England, and there are significant questions as to how the offensive line will perform in front of him Thursday.
Though the preseason opener is the first of three meaningless-in-the-standings exhibitions, the threat of contact is of course real. And the last few days of padded practices in Foxboro have featured a line that has at times been shaky in its ability to pass protect.
It’s not a game plan element. It’s not how to use his timeouts. It’s how Mayo gauges his team’s ability to protect its most valuable asset that may end up being the most important call he makes Thursday.
If the answer is “not well enough,” then it could be a long night of work for Bailey Zappe and Joe Milton.
Let’s get to The Drake Maye Report for Day 11…
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The rep report
As usual, Brissett and Maye shared the vast majority of reps. Brissett saw 29 competitive snaps on Tuesday. Maye saw 20.
Brissett remains first in the pecking order, and Mayo told reporters the plan was for the veteran to start against Carolina.
Crunching the numbers
After a rough practice blocking for Maye on Monday, it wasn’t the second-unit offense that allowed the Patriots defense to rack up “sacks.” It was the first group blocking for Brissett that faltered more often, seemingly.
Brissett went 13-for-20 with four sacks in competitive periods on Day 11. Maye, meanwhile, went 8-for-14 with an interception and a fumbled snap.
Brissett’s sacks were recorded by Anfernee Jennings, Kyle Dugger, Jaylinn Hawkins and Jabrill Peppers during a practice that was focused on sending extra rushers on the defensive side.
While there has been shuffling for the offensive line lately due to injury, the team’s top lineman, Mike Onwenu, was on the field for all four, indicating it was the bones of the top grouping, with a tweak or two. Michael Jordan subbed in for left guard Sidy Sow for three of the sacks, and Nick Leverett was in for David Andrews on one. Vederian Lowe and Calvin Anderson were the top tackles with Brissett as Chukwuma Okorafor missed his third straight practice.
No sacks for Maye in this one, in part because he got the football out decisively for the majority of the practice. A muddy pocket -- though a pocket nonetheless -- might’ve helped contribute to his late interception, which was snared by fellow rookie Marcellas Dial after being deflected by safety A.J. Thomas and receiver Javon Baker high into the air.
The fumbled snap could’ve been partly on Maye, who remains relatively new to getting under center after a collegiate career spent in the shotgun. But immediately after the botched exchange, center/guard Atonio Mafi was pulled from the action and Leverett was inserted.
Why he's ready
In this section of The Drake Maye Report, we'll highlight the portions of the rookie's performance that suggest he's prepared to sit atop the hierarchy of quarterbacks in New England sooner rather than later.
Maye completed eight of his first nine competitive attempts and looked like a confident passer as he delivered the football quickly and accurately. The highlights were back-to-back fades to the end zone to second-year wideout Kayshon Boutte and rookie tight end Jaheim Bell. He beat tight coverage from Alex Austin on the first and tight coverage from Kyle Dugger on the second.
Later in the practice, he was in “can’t go broke taking a profit” mode, taking advantage of off-coverage from the defense and hitting K.J. Osborn (once) and Jalen Reagor (three times) on four straight throws.
It was a professional, polished-looking stretch from the young quarterback that showed he’s able to discern quick answers at the line of scrimmage and deliver on target.
Why patience is a virtue
In this section of The Drake Maye Report, we'll highlight the portions of the rookie's performance that suggest he's not quite ready to sit atop the quarterback depth chart.
It was the end of practice -- a five-play sequence -- that had Maye and the second offense looking more like a work in progress.
He stepped up in the pocket and fired one to a tightly-covered Baker that resulted in a pick. After a Baker drop on the next play, Maye’s third throw was broken up by Azizi Hearn, who got through JuJu Smith-Schuster for the deflection. Then came the fumbled snap and another pass breakup, this one by Dell Pettus on Mitchell Wilcox.
Not all of those negative results can be pinned solely on Maye, but results-wise, it was a bumpy finish to practice after what had been a largely encouraging day.
If anything, that period -- when digested along with the rest of the afternoon’s encouraging work -- was simply a microcosm of what’s to be expected from Maye throughout his rookie camp: non-linear progress.