When the Patriots selected Drake Maye in the 2024 NFL Draft, they had already declared that veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett would be the starter in Week 1 to allow the rookie to learn the ways of the NFL. For the most part, it was a universally understandable decision, given how poor the offensive line's roster was and the need to protect Maye from risking injury.
Despite overcoming bad offensive lines throughout his time at the University of North Carolina, there seemed to be a high risk of putting Maye under center with questionable protection. That belief only strengthened seeing how beat up Brissett got through five games until his performance became more of the focus.
That's when the coaching staff decided Maye would be moved to QB1 in Week 6 against a very good defense in the Houston Texans. The preseason concerns about his safety were revisited, only for the rookie to prove just how impressive he was at avoiding disaster.
Over the next 13 games, he was sacked 34 times for a total loss of 229 yards while dealing with a new starting offensive lineup every week. It was far from desirable, but a new stat shows Maye was only responsible for a smidge of all sacks, demonstrating even more that the Patriots have a rising star in their quarterback.
Drake Maye overcoming a depleted offensive line is one of the more impressive parts of his rookie season
While reflecting upon the 2024 NFL season, Steven Patton of Patton Analytics put together a graphic to show how often a quarterback was sacked during the year and how often it was their fault versus the blame being solely on their offensive line.
Some of the statistics were shocking, seeing eight players being responsible for more than 50% of all their sacks, while Maye was almost at the bottom with responsibility for only three of the 34 sacks on record.
Eight QBs were responsible for 50% or more of their sacks this year:
— Steven Patton (@PattonAnalytics) January 8, 2025
Matthew Stafford: 71.4%
Cooper Rush: 61.5%
Will Levis: 58.5%
Dak Prescott: 57.1%
Justin Herbert: 51.2%
Josh Allen: 50%
C.J. Stroud: 50%
Geno Smith: 50% pic.twitter.com/TZKsShLg8s
Although it seemed apparent that most sacks were due to a collapse of protection around him, seeing the actual numbers in black and white proves it beyond a shadow of a doubt. It's another example of how good Maye was as a rookie, even if his quarterback stats aren't the flashiest nor win him Rookie of the Year.
It was impressive to see how well he navigated the obstacles in front of him, which also led to his record breaking scrambling to put him in the company of guys like Michael Vick and Cam Newton.
In the 13 games he played in 2024, Maye recorded 54 carries for 421 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 7.8 yards per rush, far higher than almost every running back in the league. It is part of his game that the Patriots have not had the luxury of having with their quarterbacks over the years, other than the single season with Newton, and it puts him in a unique category of players at the position in the league right now.