The New England Patriots had no other choice. Drake Maye had to be their guy.
It lined up too well for them all along. Three clear top quarterback prospects. The Patriots at No. 3 overall. And a superior athlete with prototypical quarterback tools is there for the taking.
J.J. McCarthy? All that talk was pretty silly. Maye was the guy. He is the guy. If all goes well, he’s going to be the guy for a long time.
“It’s one of the best nights of my life,” Maye said to kick off his introductory press conference Thursday night. “I can’t wait to get up there, get started and get to work.”
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA – SEPTEMBER 23: Drake Maye #10 of the North Carolina Tar Heels celebrates after a North Carolina Tar Heels touchdown in the first quarter against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Acrisure Stadium on September 23, 2023 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
For a moment, forget about looking inward at what’s still a dire situation in New England. Just look at the situations they have to deal with around the AFC. Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, C.J. Stroud. What do they have in common? High-end athletes. Elite arms. Some better than others. But these are no middlers. These are no point guards.
If Mahomes’ third Super Bowl championship, in which he shepherded an inferior surrounding cast in Kansas City to victory over the San Francisco 49ers, didn’t make it obvious … you simply need an elite quarterback to win at the highest level. And a quarterback has to be an elite athlete in order to be elite, period. Brock Purdy wasn’t nearly enough for the Niners, despite having arguably the league’s most talented roster around him, weapons everywhere.
MORE: Patriots select Drake Maye with 3rd overall pick
Didn’t matter. The Chiefs have Mahomes. And for that matter, the Ravens have Jackson. The Bills have Allen. You may notice that they will remain in Super Bowl contention through whatever roster turnover they have to endure, because they have their athletic, elite franchise quarterbacks.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 11: Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates after defeating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime during Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium on February 11, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Which brings us back to the Patriots. They obviously weren’t even close with Mac Jones, even when a lot went right around him in 2021. They were never going to be close with Bailey Zappe. Jacoby Brissett … ha!
Ultimately, the Patriots’ war room did the right thing. They took a chance on the exact type of quarterback that teams need to take chances on to get to the next level, especially when they have the third overall pick. No, Maye is not a sure thing. He’s also exactly the kind of prospect that could completely flame out. But he could also soar, elevate his teammates around him, restore the Patriots to the annual Super Bowl contention fans were used to for 20 years.
These days, that guy can’t be just an average athlete. Not even a decent one. The arm has to be top-tier. The mobility has to be at least above average. The playmaking has to be among the best in the league. Maye has those traits, and that’s why he was always projected as a top-3 pick, and that’s why the Patriots didn’t mess around.
Nov 11, 2023; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Drake Maye (10) looks to pass in the first quarter at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Now, that doesn’t mean the work is done. Job’s not finished. Maye is not a finished product. He needs work, he needs development, he needs to sit on the sidelines for a little while. But Patriots leadership, namely head coach Jerod Mayo and de facto GM Eliot Wolf, feel confident in their ability to get the most out of him, and his ability to commit to the development and do it the right way.
“Meeting with Coach [Alex] Van Pelt, Coach [Ben] McAdoo, Coach [T.C.] McCartney and talking through some of the development that he needed, some of the things they thought they could tighten up or fix in some cases, and at the end of the day, we felt comfortable with those things and really betting on the talent and the kid,” Wolf said Thursday night. “Drake is a relentless worker from all the indications that we have, and he’s going to be able to overcome some of the things in the areas that he needs to improve.”
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – OCTOBER 07: Drake Maye #10 of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts after throwing for a touchdown against the Syracuse Orange during the second half of their game at Kenan Memorial Stadium on October 07, 2023 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Tar Heels won 40-7. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
It could be some time until Maye realizes his full potential, if he ever does. And even if he’s a bust, would you really fault the Patriots for taking a chance? McCarthy wasn’t going to elevate them to the level they needed, even with an elite supporting cast. You’ll see in Minnesota. Blue-chip prospects at other positions, like wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. or tackle Joe Alt, weren’t going to transform the franchise, and weren’t going to carry much value without a franchise quarterback to help out.
The Patriots have plenty of work to do with Maye himself, and also with the team around him. It would be a mistake to play him right away. But there’s still a whole draft to complete, and this is a multi-year process for both the quarterback and for the rest of the roster.
But it’s the process the Patriots had to undertake. If they have any hope of returning to past glory, they have to land that elite quarterback. Maye gives them hope. Which was the opposite of what they’ve had since losing Tom Brady.
