The New England Patriots underwent a lot of changes over the offseason, the most important being their coach. After an unsuccessful 4-13 season under former head coach Jerod Mayo, the team hired Mike Vrabel. A former Patriot during their first dynasty era, the 2021 Coach of the Year led the Tennessee Titans for six seasons to varying degrees of success.
With a new coach typically comes new schemes and offensive changes. For the Patriots, that included signing former Texans wide receiver Stefon Diggs, and prioritizing offense in the draft with Will Campbell, TreVeyon Henderson and Kyle Williams.
All those additions are to help their sophomore quarterback Drake Maye. The UNC product was a lone bright spot on that 4-13 team, passing for over 2,000 yards and 15 touchdowns in 13 games started.
Maye has the clear top spot as the starter this year. However, the team signed two very capable backups who can contend for the position. But which one will it be?
Joshua Dobbs
The sort of “clear” answer would be Joshua Dobbs, whom the team signed this past offseason to be the de facto backup. Dobbs, now a veteran in the league after being drafted in 2017, has bounced around a couple of teams as of late and has found moderate success.
After playing four seasons with the Tennessee Volunteers, where he played alongside other NFL talents Alvin Kamara and Jauan Jennings, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Dobbs in the fourth round of the NFL Draft. This was the year they also selected T.J. Watt, JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Conner.
Last season with the 49ers, Dobbs backed up Brock Purdy, starting in only one game and throwing two touchdowns. It was in 2023 that he found the most success, splitting time between the Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals. Combining for 12 starts between the two teams, the “Passtronaut” reached new heights, throwing for nearly 2,500 yards and 13 touchdowns.
During his eight games with the Vikings, Dobbs was on what some sports fans would call a “Linsanity” run, meaning he was performing above his typical skill level, helping the Vikings win two games while starter Kirk Cousins was out.
The 30-year-old has more than carved a spot in the league. Four years ago, not many believed he would make it, but now Dobbs looks like he’ll be around much longer if he keeps up his high-level backup play.
Tommy DeVito
The other player who has the chance to make an impact behind Maye is Tommy DeVito, formerly of the New York Giants.
The New Jersey native made quite a name for himself with a “Linsanity” run of his own for the Giants back in 2023. In six games started, DeVito threw for 1,100 yards, eight touchdowns and only three interceptions.
DeVito gained instant notoriety thanks to his signature hand signal, as well as his Italian heritage, which earned him the nickname “Tommy Cutlets” by former Giant Saquon Barkley
After his heyday came to an end, the team opted to stick with the more experienced Daniel Jones, and DeVito sank into a backup role.
After losing some of the publicity that came with his rookie breakout, the Giants released DeVito, with the Patriots quick to claim him.
Conclusion
Though Dobbs will likely earn the backup spot, at the end of the day, both of these players could prove to be important if New England needed them to be. They will have no problem shouldering the load should Maye go down.
They both have similar play styles to Maye, as they are bigger quarterbacks that can beat teams on the ground when they don’t expect it.
Mainly Dobbs, but DeVito as well, have some great NFL experience that they can bestow on Maye to help him grow for the future.
Leave a comment