Jerod Mayo drops huge hint that Drake Maye won Patriots quarterback job

Patriots rookie Drake Maye may have stolen the starting job on Sunday night.

Maye, the third overall pick in this year’s draft, had another stellar showing for New England, throwing for 126 yards and a touchdown in a 20-10 loss to the Commanders, which saw presumed starter Jacoby Brissett exit early in the first half due to a shoulder injury.

Maye had a 47-yard touchdown throw to fellow rookie Ja’Lynn Polk called back due to a holding penalty and also completed a pass despite losing his cleat when a lineman stepped on his foot.

The performance and Maye’s steady improvement throughout the offseason may have flipped the script on New England’s presumed plan to start Brissett early in the season.

“What I will say is this is a true competition … and I would say at this current point, Drake has outplayed Jacoby,” head coach Jerod Mayo said on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on Monday morning. “Now in saying that, we have to take in the full body of work, going all the way back to the spring and beginning of training camp, and we’ll see where we end up. But those are the conversations that will happen here over the next couple of days.”

The 21-year-old Maye has been building a case this offseason to be named QB1.