Patriots’ Drake Maye conundrum underscores early success of Bears’ Caleb Williams plan

Patriots’ Drake Maye conundrum underscores early success of Bears’ Caleb Williams plan originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

Life with a rookie quarterback is difficult in the NFL, no matter how prepared your coach and roster are to ride the wave.

However, an imperfect plan or faulty roster construction can exacerbate the growing pains and even delay or derail a promising career.

Drafting a franchise quarterback high in the draft is just a fraction of the battle. To give a young quarterback the best chance to succeed, you need to cross all your T’s and dot all your I’s, lest you risk spoiling the best asset in sports.

That’s something the Bears prioritized since before No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams arrived in April. It’s something the New England Patriots have been unable to accomplish for No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye.

The Bears moved heaven and earth this offseason to give Williams the best possible runway for a clear takeoff during his NFL rookie season. That plan included upgrades to the supporting cast, hiring an offensive staff that excels at teaching, methodical mapping of checkpoints for Williams during Year 1, and handing the quarterback the keys to the franchise on Day 1.

All of that has Williams primed to liftoff when the Bears open the season on Sept. 8 against the Tennessee Titans.

The early success of the Bears’ plan contrasts starkly with the dilemma the Patriots currently face as Week 1 approaches.

Unlike the Bears, who did not bring in a veteran to compete with or start over Williams, the Patriots signed quarterback Jacoby Brissett in the offseason. The belief was that Maye would need time to develop and that it would be better to throw Brissett out behind a leaky offensive line with limited weapons than risk scarring Maye early on in a critical development season.

But Maye has taken huge strides over the summer and entered the final week of the preseason in a clear competition with Brissett to be the Week 1 starter.

Maye’s performance in the…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/patriots-drake-maye-conundrum-underscores-215253322.html

Author : NBC Sports Chicago

Publish date : 2024-08-26 21:52:53

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