Patriots Insider Offers Wild Take Regarding Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy

The New England Patriots didn’t get the Week 1 result they wanted, but it’s far from panic time. The team appears to have a franchise quarterback in Drake Maye, and there are other promising pieces all over the roster.

Maye didn’t play his best game ever in Week 1, but he wasn’t terrible either. The quarterback completed 30-of-46 passes for 287 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Maye was under pressure consistently and was sacked four times on the day.

The Patriots ended up losing 20-13, but it’s hard to pin the loss on Maye. The young quarterback should only continue to get better, especially as his supporting cast improves as well.

However, one Patriots’ insider doesn’t seem to believe in Maye as much as others do. Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston recently declared that he would choose Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy over Maye in a 2024 re-draft.

“I would still take J.J. McCarthy,” Curran said Tuesday on WEEI’s Jones & Keefe. “He’s as fast, if not faster. His arm is just as strong as Drake Maye’s, even though he could use a little bit more touch.”

This is certainly an interesting take. We’ve seen a full season of play from Maye, while we’ve seen just one regular season game from McCarthy. Looking at McCarthy’s numbers from his Week 1 game, they certainly don’t jump off the page.

Against the Bears, McCarthy completed 13-of-20 passes for 143 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. The quarterback also rushed for 25 yards and one score in his debut. It wasn’t a BAD performance, per se, but to say you’d take him over Maye just from that game alone seems like a stretch.

Curran could end up being completely right. There’s a chance that McCarthy has a better career than Maye and thrives in Minnesota. After all, head coach Kevin O’Connell has worked wonders with several quarterbacks in the past, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see McCarthy become the latest.

However, Maye has shown a ton of promise already in his young career, and that’s been without the best supporting cast in the world. It’s just way too early to be having these discussions.