Three Reasons Patriots Will Regret Starting Drake Maye Vs. Texans

Drake Maye begins his run as the future of the New England Patriots as the team will reportedly start him in Week 6 against the Houston Texans.

Maye jumps Jacoby Brissett to lead a New England offense that sits in the bottom of the NFL in scoring. That’s where the move comes from as the rookie truly starts his NFL journey. The question is should the Patriots really be doing that now?

New England is a bit of a mess at 1-4 and struggles to offer a cohesive unit, particularly with the offensive line that’s tasked with protecting Maye. The team, as was the case to start the season, probably isn’t ready for the rookie yet. That’s on top of a legitimate AFC contender visiting Foxboro this weekend.

Houston enters with a strong offensive attack, leaving the Patriots potentially playing from behind against an aggressive defense that wins up front.

Maye needs to play at some point. Unfortunately for this Patriots team, there may not be a perfect time to send him out to lead the offense.

Here are three reasons the Patriots could regret starting Maye against the Texans.

1. Injury Risk
The Patriots have an offensive line in front of the quarterback that’s basically been a turnstile and kept Brissett running for his life inside and outside of the pocket.

That group took another massive hit with David Andrews suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 4 against the San Francisco 49ers. The little stability that Patriots had up front is gone, leaving an inopportune situation for Maye to properly operate the offense.

Maye took a crunching hit against the New York Jets in Week 3 in limited time. A full start could lead to more punishment if the Patriots don’t properly take care of him.

2. Quality Of Opponent
The Texans are an absolute juggernaut. C.J. Stroud, who raved about Maye during the draft process, is arguably the best young quarterback in football. Stefon Diggs elevated the offense that can put up points, even without breakout receiver Nico Collins for this matchup with the Patriots.

On the other side of the ball, Houston has an elite win rate and consistently find ways to get to the opposing quarterback. The Patriots have struggled with a severe talent discrepancy all season and that will continue in Week 6.

3. Forced Regression
There’s been rumblings that playing Maye too early could harm his development and force regression on a young quarterback. Mac Jones certainly felt that with furious offensive changes around him across three seasons with the Patriots.

These situations, upon review, have enough difference to crush that link. Nonetheless, the Patriots need to find ways, while they may be few and far between, to put Maye in position to succeed by running the ball, feeding skill players and avoiding contact.