The New England Patriots spent the hours before Day 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft fielding calls from teams that wanted to move up.
New England was in possession of the No. 3 overall pick, putting them in pole position to select one of the top-3 quarterbacks in this year’s class.
Despite their reported interest in moving back and collecting more draft compensation, the Patriots decided to stand pat and allow the board to fall to them.
There were no surprises as Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels went No. 1 and No. 2 to the Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders, respectively.
This allowed the Patriots to take Drake Maye, who was reportedly their target all along.
Maye was initially expected to sit his rookie year and develop behind the scenes, but it appears he has a chance to compete and start for New England in 2024, via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
“If history is an indication, #Patriots rookie QB Drake Maye will have the chance to compete to be a starter this year,” Rapoport tweeted.
From our NFL Draft coverage: If history is an indication, #Patriots rookie QB Drake Maye will have the chance to compete to be a starter this year. pic.twitter.com/FGmTEa2aEh
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 27, 2024
The Patriots signed Jacoby Brissett in free agency, who is the presumptive starter for now, though Maye will need to beat him and potentially Bailey Zappe as well, who started down the stretch in 2023.
While Brissett knows the organization well and has shown he’s a steady option under center, Maye is the more talented option and can elevate the offense almost immediately.
Maye’s got plus size, strength, and arm talent and would’ve gone first overall in most other drafts.
It’ll be interesting to see how the quarterback competition goes, but Maye should eventually win out.
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