Jerod Mayo expects Drake Maye to play more next week against Eagles
FOXBORO -- Patriots fans hoping to catch a glimpse of the future in Thursday night's preseason win over the Panthers left Gillette Stadium a bit disappointed. Rookie quarterback Drake Maye played just one series, with Bailey Zappe seeing the bulk of the action under center for New England.
At least those fans got to see some electric second-half play from sixth-round pick Joe Milton. But with Maye expected to start the season as the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart, we want as much of the rookie as they can get during the exhibition slate. Not to mention, the kid can use all the experience he can get.
More Maye will come next week when the Philadelphia Eagles come to town, head coach Jerod Mayo said Friday.
"Going into Eagles week, this is a huge week for everyone to practice against the Eagles. I expect Drake to get more reps against the Eagles than in the first game," Mayo said on a video conference call with reporters.
It shouldn't be too hard for Maye to surpass his workload from Thursday night. Along with starting QB Jacoby Brissett, Maye got just one series. Maye on the field for just six snaps (plus a penalty) and completed two of his three pass attempts.
That doubled the three snaps that Brissett saw, but it felt like a missed opportunity for the Patriots to get the third overall pick some experience in a live game setting. After the 17-3 win over Carolina, Mayo said those brief appearances by Brissett and Maye were by design. He said that they wanted to see Maye play behind the team's top offensive line, and that group only played in front of Brissett and Maye.
Such a brief appearance by Maye makes it clear that the Patriots are going to take things slow with the 21-year-old rookie. While Mayo pointed to the number of practice reps for Maye throughout training camp on Friday, game action is really the best teacher.
Maye didn't do much in his quick stint on Thursday, but he also didn't make any mistakes. He got off a nice pass to running back Antonio Gibson on a third-down screen despite having a defender in his face. When he faced another third down a few plays later, he delivered a quick check-down pass to Kevin Harris rather than force a pass downfield.
At least Maye will get some extremely important practice reps this week when New England welcomes in the Eagles for a joint practice on Tuesday. And maybe he'll get to run a few series next Thursday, depending on how long the starting offensive line plays.
The training wheels are very much on Maye at the moment, and he's expected to start the season behind Brissett on the depth chart. While Maye might see more playing time in the next two exhibition tilts, the Patriots are going to stick with their plan in place for the rookie quarterback.
"Each one of these quarterbacks have an individual development plan that I've gone over with AVP and the staff. We're sticking with that plan until it's time to change," said Mayo.