Two quarterbacks from the 2024 NFL draft are facing challenging starts to their 2026 seasons, raising questions about their development and long-term prospects. Drake Maye of the New England Patriots and J.J. McCarthy, recently acquired by the New York Giants, have both struggled to build on early promise following promising beginnings.

Maye, who nearly won the MVP award in his second season in 2025, has seen a sharp decline in performance through the first three games this year. After leading the league in passer rating (113.5), completion percentage (72.0%), and yards per attempt (8.9) last season and guiding the Patriots to the Super Bowl, Maye has been plagued by turnovers and inefficiency in 2026. He has committed seven turnovers and thrown only one touchdown, resulting in a passer rating of 58.6, the worst three-game start by a quarterback since 2007. This early-season mark places him in an unfavorable group that includes recent high-profile struggles from quarterbacks such as Anthony Richardson, Justin Fields, Zach Wilson, and DeShone Kizer. The Patriots’ offense has scored only 29 points in total through three games, reflecting their broader difficulties, and marking their lowest offensive output in any three-game stretch since the New York Jets managed just 20 points in 2021 during Wilson’s rookie start.

McCarthy’s path has been similarly fraught, albeit for different reasons. Selected in the first round in 2024, he missed his entire rookie season after suffering a season-ending knee injury during the preseason with the Minnesota Vikings. Though he began the 2025 season as the Vikings’ starter and earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors in his debut, persistent injuries limited him to just 10 starts last year. His struggles culminated in a last-place passer rating of 72.6 among qualifiers, and he was demoted to third-string quarterback to start the current season. The Vikings subsequently traded McCarthy to the Giants, where he will attempt to revive his career. His journey is notable given that he joins a select group of top-10 draft picks since 1967 who have started 10 or fewer games for their original teams. This list also includes quarterbacks such as Rich Campbell, Trey Lance, Jack Thompson, Marty Domres, and Andre Ware—none of whom found success after changing teams.

Both Maye and McCarthy enter the midseason stretch under significant scrutiny. While Maye’s struggles echo those of some previous quarterbacks who rebounded to find success, the pattern for early top draft picks struggling out of the gate and changing teams has often been less encouraging. Their performances in the coming months will be critical in determining whether they can overcome early setbacks or become part of a growing list of unfulfilled draft selections.