Pats don’t pass up chance to draft Maye North Carolina quarterback has loads of potential
FOXBORO » The pick is in, and the Patriots have chosen UNC quarterback Drake Maye with the third pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
After months of speculation that the Patriots could trade down from No. 3 overall, de facto general manager Eliot Wolf, head coach Jerod Mayo and the rest of the team’s top decision-makers stood pat to select a quarterback with the hope that he’ll be the future of the franchise.
Both Wolf and Mayo said they had known “for weeks” since learning that the Commanders would take Jayden Daniels second overall that Maye would be their pick.
“It was pretty obvious at that point,” Wolf said.
Maye, 21, has prototypical size (6-foot-4, 221 pounds) and arm strength for the position. He also comes with plus-athleticism and was adept at tucking the ball and running to pick up first downs in critical situations. He was a two-year starter and a captain with the Tar Heels. His best season as a passer came in 2022, when he completed 66.2% of his passes for 4,321 yards with 38 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also added 153 carries for 899 yards with seven touchdowns rushing.
In 2023, when Maye’s supporting cast wasn’t as strong, he completed 63.3% of his passes for 3,608 yards with 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He carried the ball 92 times for 582 yards with nine touchdowns.
“First and foremost, this is a guy who comes from a very athletic family. He’s very competitive. He’s a likable guy. He’s a leader on the field, and he obviously has a lot of tools,” Mayo said. “We were very comfortable with Drake and happy we got him.”
Maye has a tendency to make some reckless throws, and he could benefit from sitting at the start of his career. One scout at the combine described him as a developmental prospect.
“He’s a player that elevates others around him, and that’s really all you can ask for at the quarterback position,” Wolf said. “Obviously he’s got a lot of talent. He’s athletic, he’s big, he’s strong. He’s young, and we feel like there’s a lot of upside to his game.”
Wolf acknowledged that the Patriots had conversations with teams about a trade-down “a really long time ago.”
“Ultimately, we felt like Drake was the player we wanted, and we had the opportunity to get him. …
“All along, we knew we were in a unique opportunity here to get a quarterback that we like, and we were obviously able to do that,” he said.
Another scout told the Herald that “there’s a lot to work with” in Maye, who has “a lot of natural talent to tap into.” He’s “big, strong and mobile” has a “powerful arm” and “natural feel in the pocket.” As far as negatives go, Maye’s “mechanics aren’t good,” he “needs refinement” and his “accuracy is hit or miss.”
Maye impressed Patriots coaches and front-office executives with his poise during an official interview at the NFL Scouting Combine. Maye also visited
Gillette Stadium during the pre-draft process and met with team personnel at his pro day.
“Just his composure, and I would say a lot of teams put up good plays of players, Eliot and his group, they put a tape together that had a lot of bad plays,” Mayo said. “And honestly, he took a lot of that blame on himself even when sometimes it wasn’t his fault. A very accountable man, and can’t wait to work with him.”
The Patriots signed veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett this offseason with the idea that he could serve as a bridge starter.
Mayo was specific in saying that Maye will have to
earn his role as the starter.
“We’re not sitting here saying Drake is our starting quarterback,” Mayo said. “He understands that. He understands the things he has to get better at. And with coaching and hard work and the coaches we have, the support system from ownership, I think he has the chance to go out there and play at a high level. You talk about potential all you want to, but until you reach it, it doesn’t matter.”
Maye joins Brissett, Bailey Zappe and Nathan Rourke on the Patriots’ quarterback depth chart. The team traded former starter Mac Jones, a 2021 firstround pick, to the Jaguars
earlier this offseason. Jones was supposed to be the team’s future franchise quarterback after an impressive rookie season. He got progressively worse over his final two seasons in New England, bottoming out and getting benched for Zappe late in the 2023 season.
Team owner Robert Kraft said at the NFL annual meeting that Wolf’s position as de facto general manager will be evaluated after the draft. Kraft said in the same meeting with the media that he hoped to come out of the draft with a “a top-rate young quarterback.”
Drafting Maye with the third pick should please Kraft.