After months of speculation, and rumors of moving down in the draft to pick JJ McCarthy by trading away the invaluable 3rd overall pick, there were no surprises on the draft day as the Patriots pulled the trigger and got their man, Drake Maye. The North Carolina alum is their highest-drafted QB since Drew Bledsoe. However, any QB that comes through the gates of Boston, will be judged and measured on performances of the GOAT, Tom Brady.
Mac Jones’s shoulders weren’t broad enough to withstand that pressure. And it seems Maye is not even trying to do the impossible by trying to emulate the 7-time Super Bowl winner. The former NC State QB sat down for his first press conference as a Patriots with the Boston Globe and was asked whether he would be following the footsteps of TB12.
While acknowledging Brady as the GOAT and best ever to pick up the pigskin, he asserted that he will try to learn from him, but won’t be emulating the GOAT because it is impossible to do so. Instead, he will be taking his own path, and being successful as Drake Maye is the goal for him. He stated,
“Tom Brady is the GOAT. It’s easy to say that. He’s the best that ever played this game. I’m not going to be Tom Brady, so I am going to be trying to be Drake Maye. I am just trying to learn from him, and hopefully get to know him a little bit and other than that, you know soak it up and be a sponge and try to learn all I can from him. “
Maye is a project that still needs to be tweaked and molded into a starter. He has been likened to Josh Allen, with many similar traits like humungous size, big arm, raw athleticism, and gutsiness to take hits. Jerod Mayo wants to play a new brand of football which is physical and fast. He is someone who might fit perfectly in that scheme. A new QB and a new coach, both with a lot to achieve and prove, seems like a match made in heaven.
While there is optimism around the camp and among the fans, many are still convinced that the Pats should have traded the pick because they are not suited to handle a rookie QB right now.
Did The Patriots Make a Mistake by Keeping the 3rd Pick and Drafting Maye?
While Drake Maye is an interesting prospect who will only elevate the team, people still feel drafting a QB now with 3rd overall pick won’t go well for a team in a rebuilding phase. They had a lot of gaps in that squad and will need years to get back to where they start competing for the Super Bowl. So drafting a rookie when you could have very well traded the pick to gain more draft capital seems like an odd choice.
As per Sports Illustrated, their story won’t be like other Rookies of the Year, CJ Stroud, Dak Prescott, Herbert, etc. It will be similar to Burrow and Bengals. Joe Shiesty coming off the Heisman-winning season, struggled in poor Cincinnati squad with bad O-Line and poor receivers. It took more than one draft class and a lot of cash to get them where they wanted. Playing in a poor team is not good for a young QB.
However, like many stories in the NFL that started rocky but got the ending it deserved, this one too could have a similar ending. Mayo has already made it clear that Maye won’t be starting in his first season, which is an approach that has done wonders for many young QBs in the past like Rodgers, Brady, Mahomes, Love, etc.
The Patriots still have enough cap space to get better receivers. They still have a lot of draft capital, with seven more picks in play. The 34th pick will be invaluable. They still have four picks in the top 150.
