New England Patriots

New England Patriots: Who is Rookie Quarterback Jacoby Brissett?

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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With Tom Brady suspended and Jimmy Garoppolo’s status looking doubtful, the New England Patriots may have to start a rookie quarterback for the first time since 1993

Who is Jacoby Brissett? That’s the question floating around offices and bars in New England this week with the Patriots top two quarterbacks possibly not available Thursday against Houston.

Selected with the 91st overall pick out of North Carolina State, Jacoby Brissett was Bill Belichick’s next project. Brissett was never expected to play this season, let alone start a prime time game across from J.J. Watt.

After transferring from Florida in 2013, Jacoby Brissett played 13 games in each of the past two seasons for the Wolfpack. Under the play of Brissett, NC State went 15-11 and finished 1-1 in bowl games.

Brissett clearly had a lot of mechanical work to be done before he could be considered a starting quarterback in the NFL. Mentally he was not prepared, with situational awareness being a major weak spot in his game. Footwork while standing in the pocket also needed to be cleaned up, especially for a mobile athlete.

When Brissett entered Sundays game after watching Jimmy Garoppolo go down, the Patriots coaching staff did its best to protect him. LeGarrette Blount’s carries increased, and when Brissett did get the opportunity to throw the ball the plays were simple and short.

Belichick and his staff will make sure the playbook is condensed with a short week coming up.

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Watching Jacoby Brissett Sunday against Miami you saw improvements and flaws in his game. Footwork was still sloppy and inconsistent, his awareness was improved, and for the most part he took command of the line of scrimmage pre-snap. He’s going to have to get more vocal at the line, but it’s an upgrade to what he was in college.

Jacoby Brissett won’t be the next Tom Brady and take over a veterans job longterm. It’ll be good for the kid to get some NFL game action, even if he’ll have to stare down the barrel with J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney charging at him.

The mobility of Brissett will help him avoid these two, but he’ll need to be smart with the ball and focus on the task at hand. Now is not the time to be Superman and blow the hinges off. Do your job, and you’ll succeed.