Despite drafting Drake Maye No. 3 overall in April's NFL Draft, the Patriots have stuck with their veteran quarterback through their first five games.
Jacoby Brissett, in his ninth season, hasn't led New England to much success through Week 5, though. The Patriots are just 1-4 so far, and their only win came against the Bengals in Week 1.
On Sunday, New England fell 15-10 to a Miami team down multiple quarterbacks. Outside of a strong run game led by Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson, head coach Jerod Mayo's offense has struggled; the Patriots rank last in the NFL in passing yards per game with 119.4.
On Monday, Mayo's comments regarding Brissett's play and his quarterback situation cast some doubt on whether the veteran would remain the starter.
With that in mind, here's a look at New England's current depth chart at quarterback, which could change before Week 6.
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Patriots QB depth chart
| Rank | Player |
| 1 | Jacoby Brissett |
| 2 | Drake Maye |
| 3 | Joe Milton III |
No. 1: Jacoby Brissett
In five games this season, Brissett has thrown for just 696 passing yards.
While he hasn't faced significant turnover issues, Brissett's inefficiency has slowed New England's offense down. The Patriots' 12.4 points per game rank 31st in the NFL.
Brissett's inability to raise the ceiling of his team's offense has increased speculation that New England's rookie might get a shot at the starting job.
No. 2: Drake Maye
For now, Maye is QB2 in New England, but that could change soon.
Maye has seen action in just one game this season — a blowout loss to the Jets in Week 3 where he completed four of his eight passes for 22 yards and picked up 12 rushing yards late in the fourth quarter.
So far, Mayo's method of development for Maye has been letting him watch and learn on the sidelines. However, the more the Patriots offense struggles in 2024, the more likely it is that Maye draws a start for a change of pace.
Maye, 22, threw for 3,608 yards and 24 touchdowns at UNC in 2023 before being drafted by New England.
On Wednesday in Week 6, head coach Jerod Mayo announced that Maye would take over as the starting quarterback.
Jerod Mayo officially has named Drake Maye as the Patriots starting quarterback.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 9, 2024
pic.twitter.com/aeN5EPEkXk
No. 3: Joe Milton III
Milton was the second quarterback drafted for the Patriots in April. After being selected in the sixth round, he hasn't seen any action this season, remaining inactive.
In his final season at Tennessee in 2023, Milton had 2,813 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions in the air along with 299 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. He's likely to hold the QB3 spot for the Patriots throughout the 2024 season.
WEEK 6 FANTASY FOOTBALL RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Jacoby Brissett stats
Here's a look at Brissett's week-by-week and total numbers through five games this season:
| Week | Opponent | Result | Completions-Attempts | Comp. % | Passing yards | AVG | Pass TDs | INTs | Rating | Rushing yards |
| 5 | Dolphins | L, 15-10 | 18-34 | 52.9% | 160 | 4.7 | 0 | 0 | 65.8 | 10 |
| 4 | 49ers | L, 30-13 | 19-32 | 59.4% | 168 | 5.3 | 1 | 1 | 70.8 | 3 |
| 3 | Jets | L, 24-3 | 12-18 | 66.7% | 98 | 5.4 | 0 | 0 | 80.3 | 0 |
| 2 | Seahawks | L, 23-20 | 15-27 | 55.6% | 149 | 5.5 | 1 | 0 | 83.7 | 6 |
| 1 | Bengals | W, 16-10 | 15-24 | 62.5% | 121 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 75.2 | 32 |
| Totals: | 1-4 | 79-135 | 58.5% | 696 | 5.2 | 2 | 1 | 74.2 | 51 |
