The New England Patriots have their quarterback of the future, selecting North Carolina's Drake Maye with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Maye's arrival to Foxborough brings the dawn of a new era for Patriots football. That alone is the reason why they're getting a high grade for their first-round pick.
Grading Patriots' pick of Drake Maye
Maye is arguably the second-best quarterback in the 2024 draft and one of the best quarterback prospects over the last decade. He possesses a rare combination of size and elite traits at the position, giving the Patriots a game-changer at the position.
The UNC product had multiple seasons of putting up major stats through the air and on the ground in college. He threw for 4,321 yards, 48 touchdowns and seven interceptions with 698 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns in 2022. His stats took a slight dip in 2023, but Maye was still highly productive. He threw for 3,608 yards, 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions to go with 449 rushing yards and nine rushing scores last season.
In terms of his frame, Maye is 6'4, 230 pounds, so he's certainly big enough to play the position. In fact, Maye has better than ideal size. He's been compared to Josh Allen and Justin Herbert due to his size and arm strength, using both to his advantage during his time at Chapel Hill. Maye actually previously compared his running style to Allen's, which could cause some concern for Patriots fans but shows toughness.
That's the sort of makeup New England hasn't had at quarterback in the modern era, especially as the game has increasingly favored dual-threat play at the position. Mac Jones lacked the arm and athleticism required to really make special plays, which showed over the last couple of seasons. Bailey Zappe wasn't any different during his stint as the Patriots' quarterback at the end of last season.
Now, there are some concerns about Maye. His footwork has been criticized consistently throughout the draft process, leading some evaluators to call him the most raw quarterback out of the top-tier prospects. So, it'd be best for New England to sit Maye for some time in order to smooth out the rough edges of his game, especially with the offense still being in pretty poor shape overall.
Still, this is the right pick for the Patriots, even if they may have to wait some time to reap the rewards. If there's any team that knows you need elite play at the quarterback position, it's New England, who won six Super Bowls largely because Tom Brady is the best to ever to do it.
While they were able to get their last franchise quarterback in the sixth round, that's a clear anomaly. The vast majority of franchise quarterbacks are first-round picks, if not top-1o selections. There was no guarantee the Patriots were going to be in this spot again. Frankly, they shouldn't want to be in this spot again, either.
New England is already among the group winners of the 2024 NFL Draft because they vastly improved at the most position in all of sports.
Grade: A
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