The New England Patriots have entered a new era under head coach Jerod Mayo. New England drafted Drake Maye in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft with the hope that he will be their next franchise QB. However, one former NFL QB is worried about the approach New England is taking with their rookie QB.

Former NFL QB Chase Daniel recently sat down with Dianna Russini on The Athletic's Scoop City podcast. Daniel shard his skepticism about the team's approach to developing Maye behind veteran Jacoby Brissett.

“For me, it comes down to film study,” Daniel said. “When you study the film, the word that really jumps out to me is raw. He needs some time to develop.”

Daniel is correct that Maye is a raw QB prospect. This is something that the Patriots knew when they drafted him. Where Daniel disagrees with the Patriots is letting Maye develop in practice.

“I think if I was a media member today in New England, I'm asking Jerod Mayo ‘what's your plan for development in practice for Drake Maye?' That's a big issues because, I hate to say it, you cannot develop in practice. You have to play actual football games,” Daniel concluded.

Daniel's opinion hits on a popular debate in NFL circle lately — what is the best way to develop a rookie QB?

It is a tough question to answer. If you put a rookie into a starting role too early, it can seriously stunt their development. It can also cause a fanbase to turn on the QB before he has a chance to develop. On the other hand, it can be the best way to learn the NFL game, as Daniel suggests.

All of this begs the question: when will Patriots fans finally see Drake Maye in a real NFL game?

When should Patriots fans expect to see Drake Maye take over at QB? 

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There are multiple factors that could impact when Patriots fans actually see Drake Maye step onto the field in a regular season game.

Let's start with what we know — it likely won't be in Week 1. Jerod Mayo named Jacob Brissett the starter on Thursday.

“We talked to Jacoby Brissett in August and he was very clear that he believes he is the starter,” Ian Rapaport said on Good Morning Football. “He believes he's the right man not just to mentor Drake Maye and the other young quarterbacks but to be the starter of this team.”

The direction of the Patriots 2024 season could thrust Maye into the starting lineup. This could happen due to an injury to Brissett or a poor start to the regular season. If the Patriots were eliminated from playoff contention early, or the writing is on the wall in the early weeks of the season, then Maye could unseat Brissett in favor of getting him experience.

Patriots fans should expect to see Drake Maye at some point in the 2024 regular season. It's just a question of when.