We continue our training camp positional preview series by looking at the Patriots' quarterbacks. I suspect I'll be writing about them in some way, shape, or form from now until eternity.
Signed: Jacoby Brissett, Drake Maye, Bailey Zappe, Joe Milton
After one season of Mac Jones, we thought the Pats had their quarterback of the future. We had already begun to reconsider by early in year two - a fair amount of folks had caught Zappe Fever - and by year three, it was over for Mac. Poor coaching, egos, and an inadequate supporting cast (who would have guessed?) certainly aided his downfall, but let's not forget his own cocktail, one that mixed a pop gun arm, shoddy decision-making, and not nearly enough athleticism to overcome what he was surrounded by.
So, what am I telling you? This: What happens with Drake Maye isn't only about Drake Maye. His success (or failure) will have so many layers; we just witnessed what happens when they're not working in harmony. It's too much to overcome. So, while Maye isn't going to "bust," as one person told me, a confluence of events and people could.
On Drake Maye: "The kid himself, he's not going to bust. You may bust him, but he has everything you want beyond the obvious natural gifts. Teammates love him; he puts in the work and put that program on his back for the last two seasons. If he hits his ceiling, he's a top 10…
— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) April 25, 2024
Is the new offensive coaching staff value add? Or no? How can anyone pound the table and say they are sure (in either direction)? Yes, everything I've been able to ascertain about Alex Van Pelt is he's an intelligent, intuitive QB coach, but that's not his only job in Foxborough. He has to call the plays, something he hasn't done regularly since 2009. Can he not only shepherd Maye's development but also set him up for success on game day, sequencing plays, and not mindlessly choosing off an oversized menu with hopes that something works? That's part of the genius of Andy Reid and Sean McVay. That's what Zac Taylor did in Cincy, especially with backup Jake Browning. Youngsters Bobby Slowik (Houston) and Drew Petzing (Arizona) accomplished that in their first OC stops. Van Pelt has never been the "chosen" one. This season is his chance to prove all those who bypassed him wrong.
If Maye is playing early and Brissett is not injured, that's excellent news. That means the rookie has come on faster than expected. If Maye's watching early, well, that's the plan anyway. Remember, Van Pelt declared Brissett the starter back in the spring.
Maye made solid strides throughout the spring. While pumping the brakes publicly, privately the organization was pleased with how quickly he took to the footwork changes, his grasp of the offense, and the decision-making that earned him some critique his last year at North Carolina. One player told me, "Drake can do some things we didn't have in our bag last year. Or the year before. That's exciting."
It wasn't perfect for Maye, but it was proof that the idea of him needing one or, gasp, two years to sit and learn was nonsensical. Unless something unforeseen happens, he will play this year. It may look more like Josh Allen's rookie season than C.J. Stroud's, but the experience will be valuable and help lay the foundation for the next steps in this multi-year rebuild.
Until that time, the Pats have a pro's pro in Brissett. He is very aware of his place in this world, which is why he was the team's first and only choice in free agency. He's not going to co-opt other players on the offense to back him over Maye. That's not who he is and not what Eliot Wolf and Jerod Mayo brought him here to do.
Brissett can give the Pats representative play at the position in the short term. Though some of you might push back, he's a top-20 quarterback (at least until we learn about the six rookie first-rounders). There are worse places to be.
Brissett also thrived in the Stefanski/AVP system in Cleveland, completing 64% of his passes for 2,608 yards, 12 touchdowns, and six interceptions. A deeper look at those numbers revealed top-10 finishes in QBR, EPA per dropback, and big-time throw rate, while the Browns averaged nearly 24 points per game, 11th best in the league.
Now, the 31-year-old has his flaws, and some of his mistakes helped shape his 4-7 record as a starter that year, but no one is asking him to be the centerpiece of this offense or banking on Brissett to have a Geno Smith-like resurgence on the east coast. Nope, he is here to lead, push, and support Maye and the rest of this young collection of skill players until the rook is ready to steer the ship himself. And even then, having Brissett as a sounding board/mentor is worth every penny.
I'm not going to go too deep on Milton. His reps got scarcer and scarcer as the spring workouts went along, and while he has a howitzer for an arm, he doesn't always know where to throw it and exactly how to get it there when he does (one-speed pitcher at this point). A dice roll worth a look, and worth some time invested.
As for Zappe, there is no way he wants to be here, not under these circumstances. He is trapped between the new regime's chosen veteran QB and the future. That said, he's started enough games over the last two seasons, so I don't see why cutting him a day before they have to makes any sense (unless Milton hits warp speed in his development). If they see a veteran with more experience in the Van Pelt system hit the waiver wire and want to go that way, that is fine, but for July and most, if not all, of August, Zappe should remain on the team. Insurance for your insurance (Brissett), if you will.