After months of speculation, former North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye has found his new home — the New England Patriots, who chose Maye with the third overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Maye is considered to be one of the most athletic players in this entire draft class. FOX sports NFL Draft analyst Rob Rang described Maye as having “a prototypical NFL combination of size, anticipation, accuracy and arm strength” while FOX sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt said Maye was the best quarterback prospect in the draft outside of USC quarterback Caleb Williams, who went No. 1 overall to the Chicago Bears.
In his two seasons as a starter in the Tar Heels’ “Air Raid”-style offense under head coach Mack Brown and offensive coordinators Phil Longo and Chip Lindsey, Maye recorded 7,929 pass yards, 62 touchdown passes and 16 interceptions, averaging over 300 passing yards per game both years. He also rushed for 1,147 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground over those two years.
Maye joins a rebuilding Patriots team that went 4-13 last season and is looking for a fresh start after mutually parting ways with head coach/general manager Bill Belichick after a 24-year tenure that saw New England win all six of its Super Bowls. Owner Robert Kraft promoted assistant coach and former player Jerod Mayo to take over for Belichick, while director of scouting Eliot Wolf now runs the team’s front office as its de facto general manager.
Now, Mayo and Wolf’s first pick in charge of the Patriots is the player who they hope can be the Patriots’ first franchise quarterback since Tom Brady, who departed the team in 2020 amid a rift with Belichick after also leading the Patriots to all six of those Super Bowls. Belichick used the Patriots’ 2021 first-round pick on quarterback Mac Jones, but Jones was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars in March after two disappointing seasons as the Patriots’ starter.
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