The New England Patriots have struggled to consistently move the ball on offense through the first five weeks of the season, and now, for their Week 6 matchup with the Houston Texans, they're expected to start first-round pick Drake Maye.
New England selected Maye with the third overall pick in this year's draft after finishing with an abysmal 4-13 record in 2023. They signed Jacoby Brissett to be the veteran placeholder, who could buy time for Maye to learn and adjust to the NFL before being thrown onto the field in a regular season game.
After five weeks, it's finally time to see the kid in action, but why?
New England is 31st in the league in points per game (12.4) and yards per game (250.8). They are 32nd in passing yards per contest (119.4) and tied for 32nd in passing touchdowns per game (0.4).
Brissett hasn't been put in the best situation with the Patriots in 2024. His offensive line has been putrid, starting five different combinations in five games with multiple players coming and going at each position. He also has a wide receiver room made up of some solid third options on good teams, but they're forced to be Brissett's top pass-catchers.
Still, the veteran hasn't helped his case. He's missing reads and taking too long to get rid of the ball (if he gets rid of it at all).
Jerod Mayo said at the beginning of the year that this team would succeed by running the ball, and they can still do that effectively (if they actually commit to it), but when they pass, the guy throwing the ball has to be making the right plays.
Things can't get much worse with Maye under center. If anything, he may be able to use his athleticism to get outside of the pocket and make throws on the run to help this offense be better than statistically the worst passing unit in the league.
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