Jayden Daniels highlights a path Patriots could have taken with Maye originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Watch the highlights of Jayden Daniels’ latest masterpiece with the Commanders, and you’ll notice that most plays start the same way: with Daniels running for his life.
Washington’s offensive line stinks, and it doesn’t matter, because there’s a playmaker under center. Daniels threw for 238 yards and rushed for 82 more in a 34-13 victory over the Browns on Sunday, and here’s hoping the Patriots were paying attention.
Instead of fearing what fate might befall Drake Maye if he plays behind five bags of fertilizer, maybe they should see if he can elevate this no-good, worst-in-the-league, it’s-starting-to-look-like-a-mutiny operation.
That’s what Daniels is doing in Washington, where the Commanders are off to their best start (4-1) in 16 years. He’s not just playing like the runaway Rookie of the Year, he might earn MVP votes, too.
He’s the latest example of the wisdom of drafting a quarterback in the top 10 with the intention of starting him immediately, and Washington’s plan — a phrase which only applied to crossings of the Delaware during Daniel Snyder’s miserable ownership — already looks like a home run.
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It’s enough to make you wonder why the Patriots have been so afraid of playing Maye, and what price they’re going to pay for not treating him as the starter since Day 1 when he inevitably takes Jacoby Brissett’s job. It sounds like that day is looming after Sunday’s hideous 15-10 loss to the Dolphins.
In an alternate reality, the Patriots could’ve given Maye every first-team snap of training camp, or at the very least, let him genuinely compete for the job. (In an alternate, alternate reality, they never would’ve beaten the Broncos on Christmas Eve and cost themselves a shot at Daniels, but I digress.)
Instead, they handed the keys to Brissett and have watched him grind first gear until the engine catches fire. All of those veteran reps now feel utterly wasted, preparing Maye to do nothing more than stand by himself on Sundays with a wire dangling from his ear.
Maye reportedly has received 30 percent of the first-team reps since the season began, but that number could’ve been 100 in July. If the Patriots felt burned by the Mac Jones experience and didn’t want to ruin another young signal-caller, they should’ve recognized Bill Belichick’s specific disdain for the QB he never really wanted, and not drawn greater conclusions about the dangers of too much too soon.
Just look at all the high picks who have succeeded right out of the gates over the last five years. For every Bryce Young or Zach Wilson who flounders, there’s a C.J. Stroud, Joe Burrow, or Tua Tagovailoa who soars. And that’s not to mention Trevor Lawrence, Kyler Murray, and Justin Herbert, who have started playoff games despite their flaws.
It also ignores this year’s strong rookie class, with Daniels, Bears No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams, and Denver’s Bo Nix leading their teams to winning records and looking better by the week.
The Patriots are the outlier, and we’ll see what price they pay with Maye. Meanwhile, consider Daniels’ latest effort and now imagine the more mobile and rifle-armed Maye under center in New England instead of the tough but limited Brissett.
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Daniels’ first pass for positive yards on Sunday came with two free rushers in his face. He skipped out of their grasp, rolled right, and found his favorite target, wideout Terry McLaurin, for 66 yards to the 3.
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After Cleveland intercepted a dumb throw at the goal line (he is still a rookie, after all), Daniels got back to work. He rolled out of a potential sack against an unblocked Za’Darius Smith to complete a first-down throw to McLaurin. He later converted a third-and-1 in the red zone by eluding Smith again and outracing the defense to the marker.
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With the Commanders needing a fourth-and-3, Daniels ignored the blitzing Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and sprinted 34 yards untouched down the right sideline.
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And when the line finally gave him a relatively clean pocket, Daniels stepped into it dropped a perfect 41-yard touchdown bomb to Dyami Brown.
Those are but five examples. There are many more. Even if Daniels was by far the most mobile QB in this year’s draft, Maye can move, too. And as bad as New England’s line has looked with its revolving door at left tackle, Washington ranks only slightly better: the two teams come in at 27th and 30th, respectively, on Warren Sharp’s rankings.
No one’s talking about Washington’s lack of Hogs up front, of course, because the dynamite rookie QB is the story. If only that were the case here.
