Drake Maye made his NFL preseason debut on Thursday, and it was an abbreviated one.
The No. 3 overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft played just one series, completing two of his three passes for 19 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions and an 84.0 rating before leaving a scoreless tie that ended with the New England Patriots defeating the Carolina Panthers, 17-3.
"I think it was awesome, first of all, to get out there in the stadium," Maye said of his first NFL action. "It was my first time since I think the day after I got drafted being in the stadium, other than the walkthrough yesterday. So, being there with fans was a different feeling. I got some little chills in my body, but it was just awesome to compete against somebody else."
Veteran Jacoby Brissett, who has the inside track to begin the season as the starter, got the start on Thursday and also played just one series, going 0-for-3.
Maye and Brissett getting one series apiece was the plan going in.
"That was always the plan, to get him in there for one series," Patriots first-year head coach Jerod Mayo said, "to get Jacoby in there for one series, and really turn it into the [Bailey] Zappe show and the Joe [Milton III] show, that was the plan going in."
By all accounts, the cameos by Brissett and Maye were smart decisions by Mayo. The game was played amid a steady downpour and the Patriots offensive line is also banged up.
"That's always a consideration, if he's in there you want him with the starting offensive line," Mayo said of having trepidation playing Maye behind an offensive line dealing with injuries. "You want to protect that guy, not saying we don't want to protect the other guys, but that absolutely did go into it."
In the small sample size, Maye showed promise. He looked poised and offered a look at the strong arm that made him a first-round pick. He admitted he had some nerves to deal with, but that's nothing new for the North Carolina product.
"I think you're always a little nervous," he said. "I think if you're not getting nervous, if you're not nervous for something, then it doesn't mean something to you. That's how I look at it. So, I think nerves are a good thing. After you get that first snap, the end of the play you settle in. So, I think being out there just running on the field, is a different feeling. It's hard to emulate that in practice."
Maye saw his first NFL action of any kind with 11:11 left in the first quarter, trotting out to applause from the home faithful.
He handed off on his first two snaps, which surrounded a false start penalty. It led to a third-and-13 that Maye converted on a nice screen to Antonio Gibson in which he calmly and coolly made a perfect toss to the running back in the face of the rush.
He followed with a high ball that slipped through the hands of Jalen Reagor and, after a Gibson run, faced third-and-long again. Needing 11 yards, Maye hit running back Kevin Harris in the flats for a 6-yard gain. The Pats punted, as they did on their first four drives, a play later.
On the ensuing drive, Zappe relieved Maye, much to the chagrin of the home fans.
There wasn't much to analyze, but Maye saw his first action, showed a few gleans of promise and is on to the next. Plain and simple, it was a gloomy and cloudy day in which he wasn't put in the greatest situation to shine, but he'll have ample opportunities ahead to do that.
"This is the first preseason game, we still have two left," Mayo said, "he'll have plenty of opportunities to go against the two other teams before the regular season."
