Future is Now: Patriots Select QB Drake Maye 3rd Overall in NFL Draft

The future is here. After weeks of speculation over what the Patriots would do with the #3 pick, the team kept it simple, stayed put, and selected North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye.

Maye had an outstanding 2022 season, when the then-redshirt sophomore won ACC Player of the Year, Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Offensive Rookie of the Year, becoming just the second player ever to win all four awards. However, due in large part to a coaching change and Josh Downs’s departure gutting an already shallow supporting cast, Maye’s play declined in 2023.

That decline led to Heisman-winner Jayden Daniels leapfrogging Maye in the draft order, but the former Tar Heel still offers a rare blend of prototypical traits, an ideal character profile, and tremendous upside.

New England was fairly transparent about its plan to take a 1st-round quarterback before the draft, which began with trading fallen 1st-rounder Mac Jones and signing beloved journeyman Jacoby Brissett.

Eliot Wolf called this “a good year for quarterbacks” during his first press conference as de facto general manager, and he’s openly praised the toughness and leadership among the top six quarterback prospects. These comments were telling, as first-year head coach Jerod Mayo went on to say the team would prioritize intangibles over physical traits.

“The thing about quarterbacks for me–everyone wants the big arm, the mobility, and things like that,” Mayo explained one day after Wolf’s debut. “But I do think it’s important just to get a good sense of what type of competitor they are. Their toughness, and things like that. Those are things you really want to look for.”

Other 1st-round options, J.J. McCarthy and Michael Penix Jr., are known for their outstanding character and toughness. Both also hail from last season’s best college teams. But neither offers the same upside as Maye, whom Mayo spoke highly of at the NFL’s annual meeting.

“Drake Maye had a fantastic interview at the combine,” Mayo said. “He brings a lot of energy.  You can tell he has that leadership ability. And also, the exciting part about a guy like Drake Maye is, the ceiling, there is really no ceiling with a guy like that.”

Mayo also acknowledged Maye’s inexperience but sounded optimistic about the 21-year-old’s long-term outlook.

“Now, in saying that, when we’re trying to put together this roster, I know a lot of people look at the ceiling. But you’ve also got to kind of see, how low is the floor? How low is the floor? I would say a guy like Drake Maye, he has a lot of room to grow. He’s a young guy. Honestly, he hasn’t played football nearly as much as these other guys.  That’s definitely something that we’ve looked at, but he definitely is going to develop.”

Wolf believes the Patriots are equipped to stoke that development, despite some pundits arguing the contrary.

“I read a lot of that storyline. I’m not really sure what that means,” Wolf said when asked last week if the team is prepared to support a young quarterback. “We have a solid offensive line. We re-signed Mike Onwenu, we have David Andrews coming back. We have three rookies that we drafted last year that are developing. We signed [Chukwuma] Okorafor from the Steelers. Hunter Henry. I mean, a good running game, a solid foundation and a solid system in place with coach [Alex] Van Pelt on the offense. So, I definitely feel like we can support that.”

If Van Pelt and quarterbacks coach T.C. McCartney’s West Coast teachings can provide the consistency Maye needs to reach his potential, New England could have a legitimate All-Pro candidate on their hands in the near future.