State of the New England Patriots: Spotlight shines on Drake Maye at dawn of new era

The Patriots used the third overall pick in the draft to select Drake Maye as the quarterback of the future. I’m a Bears fan. So, if you try to sell me on a promising QB prospect out of North Carolina, I’m going to need some convincing. Maye made 26 college starts, though. That’s twice as many as Mitchell Trubisky made with the Tar Heels. Maye led the ACC with 3,608 passing yards in 2023 and threw 24 touchdown passes. He was better the previous season, as he led the FBS with 5,019 offensive yards. He won ACC Player of the Year and ACC Rookie of the Year in 2022. Jacoby Brissett is back in New England and took reps with the first-team offense during minicamp, so it certainly seems like the veteran is the favorite to open the season as the starter while Maye continues to acclimate. Brissett would be the fifth quarterback to start for the Patriots since Tom Brady left the team a few years ago. A prize to you if you can name the four other guys without reading the next sentence. OK, it’s Mac Jones, Cam Newton, Bailey Zappe and Brian Hoyer. The Patriots also tied for last in points per game last season (13.9).