The New England Patriots are 3-10 after a crushing one-point loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Not much has gone right for New England in its first season without Bill Belichick. The seat is awfully warm for Jerod Mayo, while the majority of Eliot Wolf's personnel choices have backfired or fallen short of expectations.
To be fair, the expectations weren't very high to begin with. We all knew this Patriots team was rebuilding. This was always a transitional period. Frankly, 3-10 is pretty much on par with preseason prognostications.
Still, it's one thing to talk about 3-10 and another thing entirely to live through it. This is a brutal time for Patriots fans, who are accustomed to competitive, winning football. New England is at a disadvantage week in and week out, almost never remotely close to "favorites" in a given matchup. That stinks, even if we saw it coming.
That said, there is a light at the end of the tunnel — a bright spot in an otherwise dour campaign. That comes in the form of rookie quarterback Drake Maye, who has performed well despite the utter lack of help around him. Maye has completed 67.2 percent of his passes to date, notching 1,696 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, and eight interceptions through nine appearances (eight starts).
This is a loaded rookie class at the quarterback position, with six selected in the top 12, but NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah believes Maye has stood out above the rest.
Drake Maye's rookie season is special because of how bad the Patriots are
Has Maye been the "best" rookie quarterback in terms of accomplishments, statistical or otherwise? Of course not. Bo Nix and Jayden Daniels are tracking No. 1 and No. 2 for Offensive Rookie of the Year in some order. Both are captains of winning teams, which is rare enough for rookie quarterbacks. Maye does not have such a luxury.
That said, it's worth pondering for a moment what Nix or Daniels might look like in New England, operating behind a garbage offensive line and flanked by arguably the worst wide receiver room in the AFC. Nix has the benefit of Sean Payton's guidance and a talented Denver WR corps. Lest we forget, Nix began the season quite unevenly before rounding into form over the last month or so. Daniels was tracking for history out of the gate, but Washington has lost three of its last four. Momentum is waning.
Frankly, the best point of comparison for Maye is Caleb Williams in Chicago. The Bears' play-calling and personnel have been substandard, leaving Williams to carry that team on his back, which he has done with relative success in recent weeks, despite Chicago's collective failures. Even then, however, Chicago invested major resources in the WR room last summer. The Bears aren't short on playmakers around Williams.
Maye is truly operating with nothing. The Patriots' cupboard is barren, but Maye continues to turn garbage into gold on a regular basis. His athleticism and arm talent pop on a weekly basis. He has been responsible for a few ugly INTs, but once the Patriots put a real team around him, it's easy to envision Maye slinging darts in the playoffs.
