NFL Rookie Roundup 360: Why Patriots should start Drake Maye; Bears' Caleb Williams facing adversity
Was the New England Patriots’ 24-3 loss to the New York Jets the beginning of the Drake Maye era?
The No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft made his NFL debut late in the fourth quarter in the AFC East rivalry game and completed 4 of 8 passes for 22 yards. As exciting as it was to see the 6-foot-4 quarterback talent, the two sacks he took on his only drive was evidence as to why Jacoby Brissett has started the season.
But, with Brissett struggling behind that offensive line and failing to move the ball down the field, should the Patriots speed up their plans to start Maye? Yes, the offensive line is a problem right now, but could Maye’s athleticism help spark the offense? Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo noted that athleticism in his evaluation of how his rookie gunslinger performed against the Jets on the final drive.
“Yeah, another guy who has athleticism,” Mayo said during his press conference with the media on Friday. “He can make all the throws. Coming off the bench at that time is always tough, no matter what position, but especially at the quarterback position. I thought he did handle himself well and tried to put a drive together. Something to build off of. I thought it was a good opportunity for him to go out there and get some live reps.”
Two reasons the Patriots should start Drake Maye
With Maye getting 30 percent of the reps with the first unit during practice leading up to the game, there seems to be a plan in place to get him ready to start at some point in the season. It could come sooner than expected with Brissett can’t find ways to move the offense other than the team running the ball behind Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson. As was the case Thursday night against the Jets, once a team takes that away, defenders start to tee off against the QB.
While Patriots fans may not want to see the rookie get beat up in the pocket, his athleticism and ability to make plays with his feet might just make him the better option at this point. Another factor to think about is maybe Maye as QB will get the receivers going. Sometimes it just takes that change in quarterback to spark an NFL offense.
The wait is on in New England.
Chicago Bears rookie QB Caleb Williams facing first big test in NFL
The excitement surrounding Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has faded just a bit after two games in the NFL. But it’s not panic time for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Despite his slow start, the team is 1-1 to start the season and things will just get better for the USC product in the coming weeks, right?
Through two games, Williams thrown for just 267 yards and no touchdowns. He has turned the ball over two times and is having a tough time generating anything consistent behind the Bears’ offensive line. Williams’ struggles are exactly why some Patriots fans and critics don’t want to throw Maye out there. But, given the talent Williams has, he is the best option, and the team needs to know what they have in their potential franchise quarterback, even when things are not flowing high.
In other words, it takes patience from the team, and the player who is obviously frustrated, but needs to learn from the adversity. It might just be beneficial for the Bears and Williams that the struggles are coming early. All he can do is be “steady” says head coach Matt Eberflus.
“The NFL, if you want to ride the roller coaster, you can, but you don’t have to. You have to be steady. You have to make sure that you’re playing and you’re processing, and those things are coming together.
“Caleb is 22 years old and going through this for the first time, and he’s learning that process. He’s got a good plan. He just has to stick to it, go about your business. You can listen to this, that, or the other things. You can’t listen to the outside noise. You have to be right, do right and you’ll get the right result. He’s doing that.”
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The outside noise is ready to prematurely call him a draft bust. Although that is unfair, every week Williams continues to struggle, that noise will just get louder. How he shakes out of that could determine the trajectory of his career.