Well, the season is almost over and the 3-13 New England Patriots currently hold the number one pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Entering this season I knew the Patriots would be bad, however, I didn’t think they would be this bad. Between the wide receivers, offensive line, the entire defense it’s been a struggle to watch the Pats this year. The only bright side this season has been Drake Maye. Maye has done enough to show he can be a starter in the league.
Drake has made this makeshift offensive line not look as bad as it really is because of his athletic ability. What would be a sack for most quarterbacks, for Maye, he can scramble away and pick up yards… although he does need to learn how to slide.
With that being said, the Patriots should bench Maye in the final week of the season against the Buffalo Bills.
In his Monday press conference, head coach Jerod Mayo said “all things are under consideration” regarding who is starting this weekend.
It’s a nothing game for both the Bills who are locked in as the No. 2 seed and for the Patriots who have the number one pick and can only fall as far as No. 5 in the draft. There’s no reason to risk Drake Maye, especially against a Bills team that will be resting most of their key players.
The last two weeks were perfect for Maye to go against playoff caliber teams and he did well. God forbid, Maye gets a serious injury, you risk his development this offseason and potentially next season too if it’s bad enough. That’s why it’s best to bench him and let either Brissett start or Joe Milton.
The Patriots took Milton late in the draft knowing he was raw, but he has one elite trait and that’s his arm strength. Drake Maye is our starter, but it’s good for Milton to get actual game reps on tape because even if he’s not in New England for the longterm, the Patriots can get assets back for him. If Milton impresses against Buffalo and again in preseason, there will be teams interested in 2025.
The other reason why the Patriots should try and tank the last week is because they need a lot of help and having the No. 1 pick helps. This isn’t a draft that has a lot of blue chip players like the last few drafts had, however, if the Patriots can keep the No. 1 pick, then the team can trade back a few spots while getting an additional first round pick for next year and even a second round pick in this year’s draft.
For a team that has only won three games all season, I’m not sure how one more win would make a difference to the overall morale of the team. Knowing this team though they’ll find a way to win this game and we’ll be stuck with the fifth pick. NOt the end of the world, but I’d rather start at the first pick and trade back to five.
One more game and hopefully one more loss…
