Patriots' preseason decision robs Drake Maye of well-deserved recognition

Once it became clear that the Patriots were going to take a quarterback with the third overall pick in this year's draft, there was a general consensus that the rookie was unlikely to play this season due to the underwhelming offensive roster around him. That made the Jacoby Brissett signing sensical, and there was a general understanding of why the move was made.

Most fans and analysts were on board with keeping Maye on the bench to learn from the veteran and soak up as much knowledge of the NFL as possible, until they saw how he played throughout training camp and the preseason.

The acceptance of having Brissett be the starter began to be cast aside and demands for the rookie to be named the QB1 took over. It became even louder when Jerod Mayo agreed that Maye outplayed Brissett throughout the summer, but the decision remained the same.

Since Brissett was benched and Maye was named the starter in Week 6, the conversation has furthered because of how impressive he has played in just 2.5 games. He brought the boost the offense needed to be competitive, even if his first two starts resulted in a loss, and gave the Patriots a chance to not go winless the rest of the season.

Because of that, a new argument has been made about not starting Maye in Week 1. Even though he seemed fine with the decision, it's now creating quite a stir in New England about how Maye might have been deprived of the opportunity for league-wide recognition.

Drake Maye not starting in Week 1 for the Patriots unfairly eliminates him from Offensive Rookie of the Year consideration

The conversation about Maye not having the chance to be considered for the Offensive Rookie of the Year award for the 2024 season came about after his successful second drive against the Jets last week, which resulted in him scoring the first rushing touchdown of his career.

That got people talking about how well he's performed since being named the starter nearly three weeks ago and how he likely had a good shot at being considered for OROY had he been playing since Week 1.

It's certainly a fair argument and something to ponder, but at the same time, it's hard to argue that sitting for the first five games didn't benefit him in some way.

Concerns regarding his footwork came out of college, and many analysts suggested he sit for most, if not all, of his rookie season. Plenty of former players even came out to share their stance on quarterbacks sitting their rookie seasons, seemingly giving their stamp of approval for the Patriots' decision.

Now that we've seen how Maye can play, it's easy to say that he would've performed that well even if he had started five weeks sooner. But there's no way to know that for sure.

While it would've been great to see him considered for an NFL award, it doesn't define how good he is or will be, nor does it diminish what he's already accomplished.

And if we're being honest, it's fair to assume he wouldn't have won anyway simply because he's a New England Patriot. The players who would or will win it will almost certainly be quarterbacks, Caleb Williams or Jayden Daniels, especially since they're not on the Patriots.

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