Has Patriots’ Quarterback Situation Generated ‘Dumb’ Discourse?
The New England Patriots welcomed in a whole lot of change this offseason, perhaps most notably at the quarterback position.
Drake Maye and Joe Milton III were two of three quarterback additions -- Jacoby Brissett was the third -- made by New England. Maye, the third overall pick, and Milton, the 193rd overall pick, were both selected in April's NFL draft, and have garnered the most interest out of training camp. Granted, with the Mac Jones era in the past, and the Patriots turning a new page, there's no wonder why Maye and Milton have drawn eyes so far.
However, has the outside chit-chatter regarding both gone a bit too far?
"To say after two practices, 'I think I'll take Joe Milton over Drake Maye,' is just dumb," NESN's George Balekji said on the "Foxboro Rush" podcast. "That's naïve and it's doing an injustice and it's mocking the intelligence of one of the smartest sports cities in the world. Because people are sounding the alarms and they're going, 'What?' And people are falling for the Instagram accounts -- that I follow as well -- that put up these graphics of, 'Here's a report from this camp. Here's a report from that camp.' Go watch them. Go watch Joe Milton at Michigan and Tennessee. Go watch Drake Maye at UNC."
Being as there's been only been a small sample size of both Maye and Milton's respective debut during training camp, it's far too early to make a call. New England head coach Jerod Mayo also has veteran free agent addition Jacoby Brissett, too, who could contribute to the early stages of the upcoming season. Jumping aboard in favor of either Maye or Milton isn't the wisest choice, and it certainly shouldn't be the expectation of what the Patriots are thinking at this stage in their preseason preparation. Perhaps midway through the campaign, everyone will have a more clarified understanding of what to expect at Gillette Stadium for the coming years of Patriots football.
Check out the full episode of NESN's "Foxboro Rush" here.