The Patriots have their new franchise quarterback: North Carolina’s Drake Maye.
After months of speculation, New England went with Maye at No. 3 overall in the 2024 NFL draft. They hope they now have the heir apparent to Tom Brady.
Of course, they thought they had the heir apparent to Brady when they drafted Mac Jones in the first round, and that experiment crashed and burned and ended up with the Patriots trading Jones to the Jaguars for a sixth-round draft pick.
Maye has his doubters — including Bill Belichick, the former Patriots coach who is working the draft tonight on ESPN+. Belichick was highly critical of Maye, saying his footwork needs significant improvement. It’s safe to say the Patriots wouldn’t have taken Maye if Belichick were still in charge.
Maye probably won’t lead the Patriots to the playoffs as a rookie the way Jones did, but New England will hope Maye proves to have staying power, and lead the team to the playoffs for many years in the future.
