Drake Maye vs. Jacoby Brissett QB1 'Competition Isn't Over,' Says Patriots HC Mayo

After an impressive showing in Thursday's preseason loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Drake Maye has thrust himself back into contention to start for the New England Patriots when the regular season begins.

Speaking to reporters on Friday morning, head coach Jerod Mayo explained the "competition isn't over" between Maye and Jacoby Brissett going into the final days of training camp practices.

"You know, we have three more days of training camp practices, and it's our job as coaches to evaluate, and the competition isn't over," Mayo said. "They're still gonna go out there, and they have to show not only, you know, themselves and their coaches, but their teammates. So it's definitely still a competition."

Mayo only used Maye for one series in the preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers. It was hard to get a good gauge on where his game stood because it was such a limited sample, but he at least completed two of his three attempts for 19 yards.

Thursday night was a better indicator of what Maye is capable of doing. He went 6-of-11 for 47 yards, ran for 15 yards and a touchdown on four carries in four drives. The Patriots scored on each of his first two series (one touchdown, one field goal).

Maye's stat line would have looked even better if Javon Baker had been able to haul in a perfectly-thrown deep shot on 3rd-and-10 on New England's first possession of the second half.

By comparison, Brissett has looked rough in the first two preseason games. He didn't complete a pass on three attempts in one series against the Panthers. He finished 3-of-7 for 17 yards and an interception deep in the red zone in three series against the Eagles. His two other drives around the turnover ended in punts after a three-and-out.

One consistent source of concern for the Patriots throughout training camp and preseason has been the offensive line. That unit was getting picked apart in a joint practice with the Eagles on Tuesday.

Mayo was complimentary of how the first-unit offensive line performed in Thursday's game, but noticed a "dramatic drop-off" when the second- and third-team players got on the field.

It's worth noting the Eagles didn't use any of their projected starters along the defensive line against the Patriots.

If the offensive line is going to be a problem, that creates issues for Mayo as he tries to figure out which quarterback to start. Maye is a much better runner than Brissett, but poor pass protection could also lead to him developing bad habits.

Brissett has been sacked 130 times in 79 career games (48 starts). His 7.51 percent sack rate ranks 27th out of 36 active quarterbacks with at least 1,500 career pass attempts.

Maye is the future at quarterback for the Patriots after being selected No. 3 overall in the 2024 NFL draft. He has outperformed Brissett in two preseason games thus far.

Both quarterbacks will have one more preseason game to make their case to Mayo and the coaching staff. The Patriots will take on the Washington Commanders on Aug. 25.