FOXBOROUGH — Wrapping up some things from the preseason and setting the stage for the season opener against the Bengals ...
1. The new Drake Maye Plan makes no sense.
We've heard all about the plan for Maye when he was drafted. No one has really detailed the plan outside of barely playing against the Panthers in the first preseason game, so we're left to speculate. I'm going to assume it was some version of what we've heard from Jerod Mayo for a while: "Drake will do X when he's ready." Up until now, that was just about practicing with the first-team offensive line. Which never really happened. Now that we're into the regular season, I thought we'd be on that same plan — which really boils down to him making progress at certain things needed to operate this offense. But that doesn't really seem to be the case.
Basically, I have no clue what they're doing.
The last time we saw practice, Aug. 23rd ahead of the finale against the Commanders, Maye was not "ready" enough to practice extensively with the starting offensive line.
Less than two weeks later, the Patriots' roster construction tells you Maye is ready to start Week 2, in the event Jacoby Brissett suffers a serious injury at Cincinnati (given the state of the offensive line, not totally out of the realm of possibility). In fact, Mayo said Maye is ready should that happen when I asked about it Monday.
"For me, any rookie quarterback or rookie in general, it's tough to come into this league and play at a high level," Mayo said. "When we talk about developing a guy like Drake, that is a continuous process. If Jacoby was to get injured in the first week, 1,000%, Drake would be the next guy as the No. 2 quarterback on our roster."
So, he's ready to start Week 2 if need be in that scenario?
"Well, he has no other choice," Mayo said. "He's our second-string quarterback."
To recap. Brissett, Maye and Joe Milton are the only three quarterbacks on the roster. There is no quarterback on the practice squad. This has been a big surprise to me. I figured they would have some veteran, ideally someone who has been with Alex Van Pelt, on the practice to get into the system in case the worst happens. If the Patriots didn't deem Maye "ready" for Week 1 — and they didn't since Brissett was named the starter — then he wouldn't be ready to start a game in Week 2 (maybe by Week 5). So you have a veteran on the practice squad to start the games until Maye is ready (Maye could finish a game at this point on a strict script).
None of this makes any sense to me.
Mayo said Maye is "1,000%" ready to start Week 2. That means he is ready to start Week 1. Which isn't happening ... why? Because he's not ready. So don't put yourself in a position to ruin everything you've done to this point by putting Maye into games before he is ready. Sign a veteran, get him ready. You can cut him when Maye is totally ready. Don't eff the kid up. This is not a good plan.
It's nonsense.
2. The tackle (and receiver) that got away?
Patriots fans might want to avert their eyes a bit when the Chiefs take on the Ravens in the NFL season opener on Thursday night. The Chiefs might have the rookie receiver AND left tackle the team could have ended up with in this past draft.
The Chiefs traded up from 32 to 28 and selected WR Xavier Worthy, the fastest receiver in the history of the combine.
It cost them a third-round pick (95th overall) and a seventh-round pick (221st overall). Buffalo got back a fourth-round pick (133rd overall) and a seventh-round pick (248th overall).
We know from subsequent reporting that the Patriots attempted to trade back into the first round to draft a receiver. Some think it was for Worthy.
"New England was in high speed pursuit of Xavier Worthy and they wanted him badly..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 31, 2024
They were making calls to make that pick and the Bills took the offer from the Chiefs"@mlombardiNFL #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/Ls65H2eGq4
The two-time defending champions weren't done.
Sitting last, 64th, in the second round, the Chiefs traded up one spot with the 49ers to take BYU OT Kingsley Suamataia. KC sent out No. 64 and a fifth round choice at No. 173 in order to move up a single spot to No. 63 and No. 211 overall.
Against the Ravens on Thursday night, expect both rookies to play a large role. In fact, Suamataia will start at left tackle and be protecting Patrick Mahomes' blind side this season.
"He had a good training camp," coach Andy Reid said Sunday, via the team's official transcript. "He had a good preseason, but this is going to be a learning experience for him here. This is a good defensive line, and he's going to -- I'm sure there will be some ups and downs as he goes like any young player has. He's prepared himself, and it's time to go play now."
Mahomes is on board as well.
"He has the confidence. He's going out there, and he's enjoying the moment," Mahomes said of Suamataia. "He's practicing hard. He's learning from the guys beside him. This is, like we said, probably the best defense in the league other than ours, so it's just going out there and competing against the best of the best Week 1. He's going to get kind of introduced fast. I'm excited for him to accept the challenge and see where he's at, but he did a great job in the preseason. He did a great job in training camp, and I'm excited for him to go out there and accept that next challenge."
Is there a world in which the Patriots could have done both moves? Maybe, but they are in a much different place roster-wise than the Chiefs. The Patriots likely could do one of the trades, but not both.
For the record, I have no issue staying put and taking Ja'Lynn Polk at 34 (turned into 37 with the trade-down with the Chargers) instead of moving up.
I do have an issue — and did at the time — not trading up for Suamataia once all of the promising second-wave tackles were going fast and furious at the end of the second round.
This isn't hindsight. I wrote and said it at the time. This has nothing to do with what has happened in camp or camp. A few days after the draft, I did the Suamataia in my re-draft.
We know what the Chiefs offered to the 49ers to do the deal. It's not hard to trump it. It would have taken the fourth-round pick gained from the Chargers trade (The Patriots gave up No. 34 and No. 137, getting No. 37 and No. 110 back in return. The Chargers drafted Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey).
Via the Rich Hill trade chart.
From KC to SF (93 points):
64 (84)
173 (9)
From SF to KC (86 points):
63 (82)
211 (4)
San Fran gains 7 points in that deal. Not bad. I'm countering.
NE offers (102 points):
68 (73)
110 (29)
From SF to NE (86 points):
63 (82)
211 (4)
49ers, who net 16 points in my deal compared to the 7 from KC, take the Patriots' deal.
I'm not on the clock at 63.
The debate: No debate. I'm coming up for my guy and using my extra pick from the Chargers.
THE PICK: Kingsley Suamataia, OT, BYU.
I get my possible LT of the future.
The reality was, New England didn't make that move, and now the Chiefs appear to have Mahomes' LT for the future.
I'm told the Patriots tried to trade back up into the first and second round but no one would trade with them. Make of that what you will.
(BTW, I'm waiting for the inevitable BLEHHHH BEDARD Tweets when Suamataia gives up a sack or holds in his very first NFL game. Come on ...)
3. There's a lot of revisionist history of Drake Maye going on.
Now that Maye, starting with the Eagles preseason game, started to show some real progress and he's continued to build off that confidence, I've heard some discussion about how raw he was coming out of North Carolina, and that what he's done to this point isn't all that surprising.
No one was debating Maye's traits, which may be the best total package in this past draft.
The debate was about his mechanics and inexperience under center, and how long it might take him to be NFL-ready. People seems to gloss over all the easy throws he missed at UNC — and he missed a ton. That was the most perplexing thing about his film. Could look great on some reps, but he would inexplicably miss some bunnies. That's where a lot of the footwork discussion was.
Now, people can disagree on how long that takes to be fixed (and we've seen Maye have some of those same issues in his preseason stints). But no one should be disagreeing about how raw Maye was coming out of UNC.
Consider this:
In games only between ACC opponents (not exactly the SEC or Big Ten), do you know where Maye ranked in completion percentage and passer rating among ACC quarterbacks?
Seventh and fourth, respectively.
Do you know who led the league in both? Jack Plummer of Louisville, who played a ton for the Panthers against the Patriots and had one of the best preseasons this year (and was released and signed back to Carolina's practice squad).
Maye wasn't even close to the best on-field QB in the ACC last season (no one is talking talent or pro ability). Let's take a break on the Maye revisionist history.
4. Buttoning up some charts from the preseason (we always get super busy with the quick turnaround from the preseason finale and 53-man decisions, let alone to the QB stuff. This year was worse playing on Sunday night). Here's the chart for the Commanders' game.
5. Full preseason ratings.
