Drake Maye

The Athletic’s Chad Graff believes Drake Maye “is going to have to be the obvious winner” in a QB camp battle to start in Week 1 for the Patriots.

Graff notes that Jacoby Brissett is the starter, as he took all of the first-team reps this offseason—something offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt was very intentional about. However, Maye will have a chance to challenge Brissett for the starting job in camp. The No. 3 overall pick won’t face much competition from backups Bailey Zappe or Joe Milton, but the Patriots’ roster is such that Graff doesn’t think the staff will shoehorn him into a starting role if he’s not ready. Maye will almost certainly start at some point, as the Patriots need to see what they have in their QB of the future. But the Patriots are short on a roster talent at receiver, which could make for a difficult transition for the rookie out of the gate.