The New England Patriots get to open their shiny new toy Thursday night.
New England's preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers at Gillette Stadium represents the first opportunity for No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye to see live game action. While Maye has gotten plenty of reps during training camp, Thursday night will be an important test as he sees an NFL opponent for the first time.
But how much run should Maye get? Head coach Jerod Mayo suggested all four of New England's quarterbacks will play against the Panthers, with veteran Jacoby Brissett expected to start and Maye, Bailey Zappe and Joe Milton coming on in relief. Should Maye receive the majority of the QB reps Thursday, or should the Patriots limit his work while easing him into action?
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Mike Giardi of the Boston Sports Journal says the more Maye, the merrier.
"I want like 30 snaps at least from Drake Maye," Giardi said this week on Arbella Early Edition, as seen in the video player above. "Whether that goes into the second and third quarter, whatever it takes, I want him to get as many reps as humanly possible, because that's where you're gonna go eventually, whether it's this year or beyond.
"You drafted him No. 3 overall. I think he needs the reps."
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Our Patriots Insider Phil Perry also believes Maye needs the reps but offered an important word of caution: If the offensive line can't block effectively for the 21-year-old, the Patriots shouldn't keep him on the field and risk injury.
"It shapes up to be a really fascinating in-game decision for Jerod Mayo," Perry said. "It's not about timeout strategy or philosophy or game plan or anything. It's, 'Can they protect Drake Maye?' Because you can't roll him out there -- as much as we all would love to see him, me included -- for 30-to-40 snaps on Thursday nigh if they can't block for him. It's not worth it.
"That second unit offensive line, never mind the third (unit), has had all kinds of difficulty keeping people away from him. So, if that's the case Thursday, you've got to pull the ripcord to get Zappe or Joe Milton in there."
The Patriots are particularly weak at offensive tackle, where Chukwuma Okorafor, Calvin Anderson, Vederian Lowe, the recently-signed Kellen Diesch and rookies Caedan Wallace and Zuri Henry have all taken reps during camp. Maye obviously should get used to facing NFL pass rushes, but if he's facing constant pressure from Carolina's defensive front, that "experience" may not be worth the injury risk.
One solution that Patriots Insider Tom E. Curran supports is pairing Maye with the starting offensive line and either pulling Brissett early or not playing him at all.
"I think Jacoby Brissett doesn't even really need to take the field," Curran said. "He's gotten probably 30 percent more work than Drake Maye (during training camp), and he's been very efficient in the work that he's gotten. He's worked with better players.
"If you are going to give first-team offensive line reps with anyone, I think Drake Maye should start to get them, because as (Phil Perry) pointed out, he just hasn't had enough of them."
Check out the full discussion in the video player above.