Expectations for Drake Maye, Patriots' Top Rookies in Preseason
The New England Patriots should go into their preseason games with one clear objective above all the rest.
Drake Maye needs to improve with every opportunity he gets in order to have a shot at taking over the starting job from Jacoby Brissett in 2024.
Brissett will start the regular season as the starting quarterback, but the goal for the Patriots coaching staff should be for Maye to take over by the midway point.
Maye's current status means he will not be the most impactful Patriots rookie from the start of the season.
Second-round pick Ja'Lynn Polk will likely fill that role if he claims a starting role amid a crowded wide receiver depth chart.
Drake Maye
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Drake Maye should receive a healthy amount of reps in preseason.
The Patriots know Jacoby Brissett will be their No. 1 quarterback in Week 1, so he will likely have a diminished role in the preseason contests against the Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders.
Maye will not play every snap of preseason, but he should earn most of the meaningful playing time in the first half.
Patriots fans may try to project lofty expectations on Maye's preseason performance, but the reality is that he just needs to improve across each of the three games.
As long as Maye makes progress he can leave a good impression with the coaching staff and hopefully accelerate his timeline to the starting job.
Ja'Lynn Polk
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Ja'Lynn Polk has the clearest path to Week 1 playing time among all of the Patriots rookies.
The second-round pick out of Washington can vault ahead of a handful of veterans on the depth chart because he is in the team's long-term future plans.
New England's best-case scenario is that Polk and Demario Douglas form a one-two punch at wide receiver for years to come.
A strong foundation with two young wide outs and veterans around them would help Maye ease into the starting quarterback role when he takes over.
Polk's playing time in preseason will be dependent on how far he moves up the depth chart in training camp.
At the moment, you can make the argument that he is the No. 2 wide receiver behind Douglas. Kendrick Bourne, JuJu Smith-Schuster and K.J. Osborn can provide veteran experience around them.
Regardless of how many preseason snaps he plays, Polk needs to showcase that he is adapting well to the NFL game so that he can be the impact player the Patriots need.
Caedan Wallace
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Third-round pick Caedan Wallace does not have a direct path to the starting offensive line yet.
The Penn State product can change that with a strong preseason at either tackle position.
New England has Chukwuma Okorafor and Mike Onwenu currently slated to start at the tackle spots. Onwenu is a more long-term player on the Patriots roster than Okorafor.
Wallace's primary goal in preseason might be to protect Maye depending on how the first team rotates in and out of games.
Spending preseason blocking for the quarterback of the future could be the best thing to happen to Wallace because it will show the Patriots what he looks like in first-team situations.
Wallace will spend some time with the second team as well. He needs to control those reps so that Joe Milton or Bailey Zappe can deliver throws late in games.
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