Report: New England Patriots to start Drake Maye at QB vs. Houston Texans
The New England Patriots will start rookie QB Drake Maye against the Houston Texans this week, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport.
“The future is now in New England: Sources say the #Patriots are planning to start Drake Maye against the #Texans, the first start for the No. 3 overall pick,” Rapoport wrote on Twitter. “Jacoby Brissett, who started the first five games, heads to the bench.”
Maye was selected with the No. 3 overall pick out of North Carolina back in April.
New England is off to a 1-4 start, good for last in the AFC East, under new head coach Jerod Mayo. Brissett has 696 yards, two touchdowns, one interception and a 58.5% completion percentage.
Maye made his NFL debut during a Thursday night loss against the New York Jets a few weeks back.
The 2024 No. 3 overall pick took some huge hits and was sacked twice. He completed 4-of-8 passes for 22 yards. Mayo said “I don’t know” after the game when asked about the possibility of making a quarterback change.
Mayo even said Brissett would remain the starter “until he said.” Well, he apparently said so now.
“Look, we just got beat pretty handily and I’d say right now everything is of concern,” Mayo said after the Jets game. “The offensive line, you want those guys to be able to go out there as a unit and gel together but whether it’s through injury or through whatever it is, we just haven’t found the right combination.”
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The biggest concern with Maye is throwing him to the wolves behind a poor offensive line. But the former UNC star will get his shot against the Texans, who are 4-1 and lead the AFC South.
During his career with the Tar Heels, Maye finished college with 8,018 yards, 63 touchdowns, 16 interceptions and a 64.9% completion percentage.
As a member of the Class of 2021, Maye was a four-star recruit out of Charlotte (N.C.) Myers Park, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 3 overall prospect in the state, the No. 8 quarterback in the class and the No. 45 overall prospect in the class.