New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s decision to seek outside help to develop rookie quarterback Drake Maye does not show faith in head coach Jerod Mayo.

In April, the Patriots spurned trade offers to stay put and select Maye with the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. After Jacoby Brissett originally started, the 22-year-old was tossed into the fire behind a struggling offensive line – but he has shown flashes of his exciting potential.

Since stepping into the starting role, Maye has helped the Patriots to two wins. While he was knocked out of the comeback victory against the New York Jets, Maye showed composure and playmaking ability to out-duel No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams in the 19-3 win over the Chicago Bears.

Maye looks like a young star in the making, and the Patriots want to make sure they don’t botch his development after the Mac Jones experience. The AFC East franchise selected Jones in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, and the Alabama product struggled after a stellar rookie season.

According to Sports Illustrated, Kraft ownership has reached out to people to figure out how to handle a young quarterback. The Pats want to ensure they develop and grow Maye to become a top-tier NFL quarterback, which the franchise has struggled to do since Tom Brady left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ahead of the 2020 season.

Kraft’s decision to go outside the organization doesn’t exactly paint Mayo or offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt in the best light. Kraft’s intentions may be good, but keeping such a move behind closed doors would perhaps have served the team – and Mayo – better.

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Jerod Mayo and Drake Maye are both rookies in their respective roles, but the head coach is under pressure to adequately guide the quarterback

Jerod Mayo and Drake Maye are both rookies in their respective roles, but the head coach is under pressure to adequately guide the quarterback ( 

Image:

AP)

Regardless, Mayo is clearly happy with Van Pelt through 10 weeks of the season. The rookie head coach heaped praise on his OC, insisting that Van Pelt deserves primary credit for the rookie’s development thus far.

“There’s no one in this organization that deserves more credit as far as what Drake has been able to do on the football field than Alex Van Pelt,” Mayo said Wednesday. “When we interviewed Alex – I would say when we interviewed all of the coaches that were here – one of the prerequisites or requirements was a guy who’s level-headed, and a guy who believes in working together, and a guy who doesn’t get too high or get too low. That’s Alex, and I appreciate that.”

Since naming the rookie as the starter in Week 6, the Patriots have shown immense signs of improvement, and more importantly, Maye looks like the future of the franchise. He possesses a big arm and the athleticism required to breathe life into the Pats offense, and the pressure is now on the franchise to effectively spend their huge amounts of cap space to build a team around him starting next offseason, along with another high pick in next year’s draft.

Maye’s 3-7 Patriots are next in action against the 4-5 Los Angeles Rams at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 17.