Six quarterbacks came off the board in the first 12 picks of April's draft, but don't count on seeing every member of the Dreamy Half-Dozen right away.
Drake Maye might be one of the few to start the 2024 season with an earpiece and clipboard.
After watching their bet on Mac Jones go up in smoke in a year and a half, the Patriots have intentionally crafted a bridge-to-future scenario under center entering this season. Maye is the hopeful long-term answer at quarterback, while veteran Jacoby Brissett has returned to where his career began to be the adult in the quarterback room. As rookie Patriots coach Jerod Mayo embarks on his first training camp as the top whistle-wearer, he's going to follow that plan until Maye forces him to consider alternatives.
"Coming out of the spring, I don't think there's any doubt, Jacoby is the starting quarterback at this point and time," Mayo said Tuesday of the quarterback depth chart. "We can look at these other quarterbacks on the roster, at the same time it's about competition. When we get out on the field this summer with the pads on we'll see how it all plays out. But coming out of the spring, I think it's clear that Jacoby is the most pro-ready guy we have."
With 48 career starts over his eight NFL seasons, Brissett is certainly the most professional of the Patriots' existing quarterbacks. He's not expected to be Tom Brady, though; much like Brissett did for Cleveland in place of Deshaun Watson in 2022, he'll simply need to keep the ship steady.
"Obviously that's the ultimate goal," Brissett said of currently being the team's top QB. "Obviously [I] don't take things like that lightly. I understand this league and I understand how every day is a challenge, every day is a competition, and I look forward to that. I feed off that. Looking to go out there and prove it every day."
That's the role of a plus-backup-turned-starter: Step in when they're in need, and don't commit crushing errors. It's what Gardner Minshew did in Indianapolis last season, and likely what Brissett could have done for Washington in 2023, had he been afforded an opportunity before the final weeks of the season.
It's a safe approach for the Patriots, but it isn't exactly foolproof. Brissett could play so well that there's no reason to consider replacing him with Maye. Conversely, both could struggle. And if Maye has a stellar training camp, he just might render these scenarios moot before they even have a chance to take root.
"This goes for any position: If he comes out here and lights it up, and once again it goes back to the quality of reps, it could absolutely happen," Mayo said of Maye. "But I sit here and tell you coming out of the spring, Jacoby looks like the starting quarterback. Now with that being said, he'll have competition. Let's not forget about even Joe Milton. Let's not forget about (Bailey) Zappe. All those guys will have opportunities to go out there and be the starting quarterback in Week 1."
The timeless argument of marination versus instant acclimation will once again take over this topic. Jordan Love just lit up the NFL down the backstretch of his first season as a starter after sitting for three years, while C.J. Stroud torched defenses as a rookie, so much that he ended up being a fringe MVP candidate. Each situation is different, and Mayo isn't tossing Maye in either bucket without getting a thorough look at him.
"You've seen that work in the past," Mayo said of sitting a rookie quarterback. "You look at other quarterbacks, the Green Bay quarterbacks, right, where they had a lot of time. You look at those situations and they were able to sit back. There have also been situations where a guy comes right in right now and he balls out. We'll see what happens when we get out here on the field."
Such a process begins with training camp.
