The Patriots plan to select Drake Maye No. 3 overall ahead of Jacoby Brissett against the Texans

The move from veteran Brissett to rookie Maye comes after the nine-year veteran completed 52.9% of his passes for 160 yards in a 15-10 loss to an injury-ravaged Miami Dolphins team on Sunday. The Patriots' passing offense ranks last in the league as Brissett has yet to throw for 200 yards in a game and has caught just two touchdown passes.

After a stunning season-opening upset of the Cincinnati Bengals, the Patriots have lost four straight, with the offense ranking 31st in points scored and not scoring more than 20 points in a game.

The immediate hope is that Maye breathes some life into the offense and the fan base.

Maye is more mobile than Brissett and may also be able to get the ball out quicker, which could lead to an increase in performance. He outplayed Brissett over the course of the preseason, but Mayo and Co. went the veteran route, which seemed to be the plan all along.

The offense's problems don't fall solely on Brissett's shoulders, however. He was pressured on a weekly basis, thanks in large part to a porous New England offensive line. According to Next Gen Stats, Brissett was under pressure on 50% of his dropbacks, which is the highest in the league, more than 4 percentage points more than runner-up Will Levis at 45.9%.

So there's obviously a risk in throwing Maye to the proverbial wolves – which will include the Texans' Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. on Sunday. The other side of the coin is the belief that the best way to prepare Maye to take over as the Patriots' quarterback will be through live reps.

While the Patriots' struggles in the here and now likely dictated the timing of the move, this is a long-term decision.

Now it's time for Maye to take the helm and mature into an NFL quarterback with tremendous potential and pressure to lead a proud franchise back to the glory days that have faded so quickly since the departure of Tom Brady.

Sunday will not be Maye's NFL debut.

That happened during a 24-3 loss in Week 3 to the New York Jets. Maye was 4 of 8 for 22 yards with two carries for 12 yards, but there was little to take away from the cameo.

Maye will make his first impression in Week 6.

He will be the fourth pick of a highly touted 2024 first-round quarterback draft class making his first NFL start this season, following Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears (No. 1 overall) and Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders (No. 2). ) and Bo Nix (No. 12) of the Denver Broncos. Michael Penix Jr. (No. 8) of the Atlanta Falcons remains his team's reserve player, while JJ McCarthy (No. 10) of the Minnesota Vikings is out for the season with a knee injury.

Williams, Daniels and Nix have all started to settle in with promising to stellar results as they have been their teams' starters since the start of the season. However, Maye is clearly surrounded by less talent and his courage and toughness will likely be tested as much as his talents. Ready or not, his time has come.

The Patriots and Texans begin Sunday at 1 p.m. ET and with it the Maye era.