FOXBORO — To play him or not to play him? That was the question that dominated the summer and early portion of fall for Patriots followers.
Play Drake Maye to start the season, and you might risk him taking unnecessary punishment behind a patchwork offensive line. You also might subject his confidence to a certain level of rattling if his footwork and pre-snap diagnostic capabilities weren’t NFL-ready.
Don’t play him, and you may be missing out. The team may wonder why. And the product may be less watchable.
The Patriots chose the latter, believing they had a better chance to develop their young passer behind the scenes. And while his ascension into the starting lineup may have happened more quickly than the team’s brass had envisioned, they would still tell you that he did in fact become a player while watching.
Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said Maye, 22, was “completely different” than he was back in …