Patriots select Drake Maye with the 3rd overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft

The New England Patriots finally have their next quarterback. After months of speculation, the team went with the ‘stick-and-pick’ strategy on Thursday night to land what they hope is their new franchise QB.

In the end the Patriots ended up making the move most have been projecting them to make for weeks. With the third overall pick, they drafted North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye.

Maye, who will turn 22 in August, had been viewed as one of the top quarterbacks in this draft since last fall, when he had a breakout season for UNC as a redshirt freshman. He completed 66.2 percent of his 517 pass attempts, throwing for 4,321 yards and 38 touchdowns with seven interceptions. On the ground, he added another 698 yards and seven scores as the Heels went 9-5 and reached the ACC Championship Game.

Last season, after losing multiple key offensive players to the draft and transfer portal, UNC took a step back as a whole. Maye’s production was impacted, but he still completed 63.3 percent of his 425 pass attempts for 3,608 and 24 touchdowns with nine picks, while rushing for another 449 yards and nine scores. However, the Heels finished the season 8-5 after a 6-0 start.

This is the third time in four years the Patriots have drafted a quarterback. Maye will be tasked with replacing Mac Jones, who was a first–round pick in 2021. Now in New England he’ll join 2022 fourth-round pick Bailey Zappe, and free agency signings Jacoby Brissett and Nathan Rourke. Jones was traded for a sixth-round pick earlier this offseason.

The Patriots aren’t scheduled to pick again in Round 1, but with the 34th pick - the second pick on Day 2 - they are in position to move back up into the first round if they find the right deal. If not, they’ll be back on the clock with the second pick of the second round tomorrow night.