Category: Drake Maye

Drake Maye gets glowing review from former college coach

Mack Brown gave an honest review of Drake Maye before the Patriots drafted him

Rookie quarterback Drake Maye is coming to the New England Patriots with a lot of expectations. However, those expectations are not without merit, particularly when it relates to North Carolina head coach Mack Brown, who gave a glowing review of Maye to the Patriots.

Brown has been around the game of football for decades and has seen it all. He most recently led the Tar Heels to an 8-5 record and their fifth straight bowl game appearance. He has seen solid quarterback play at the collegiate level, dating back to Vince Young during his Texas days.

Brown got the chance to see Maye up close, and the No. 3 overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft was one of the best quarterbacks in North Carolina program history, throwing for 400 yards in three separate games in the 2023 season alone.

Now, New England hopes to unlock that same potential in their effort to rebuild on the offensive side of the ball. Brown is confident about what Maye brings to the table.

“I’ve learned that I want the high school coach to tell me the truth in recruiting, so I’m very honest with the NFL coaches,” Brown said, via NESN.com’s Sean T. McGuire. “This is important to them.

“So with Coach Mayo, I knew this is huge for him, just starting out in this first year. So I just told him, ‘If I was the coach of the Patriots, I would want Drake Maye. We all put our checks in the mouth of players, and that’s what you’re (Mayo) gonna do. And I would rather have Drake Maye than anybody in the country leading my football team.’”

The jury is still out on whether Maye will be able to live up to his draft stock at the NFL level. However, a positive review from someone of Brown’s stature certainly holds significant weight.

Report: Ben McAdoo will have major role in Drake Maye’s development

Ben McAdoo will reportedly have a large hand in developing Drake Maye.

New England Patriots senior offensive assistant Ben McAdoo will play “a significant role” in the development of rookie quarterback Drake Maye, per NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe.

McAdoo has an impressive resume as a quarterback evaluator, with one example being that he projected Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson as the top-two signal-callers in the 2018 NFL draft.

McAdoo also worked as the quarterbacks coach for the Green Bay Packers from 2012-2013 and as the Jacksonville Jaguars quarterbacks coach in 2020.

Now, he will be tasked with developing rookie quarterbacks in Drake Maye and Joe Melton III. Development will be important, as the Patriots continue to look for their next franchise quarterback in the post-Tom Brady era.

Wolfe offered insight into what the development plan would look like in an interview on Wednesday.

“One thing I was told by Jerod [Mayo] and by multiple people, Ben McAdoo is gonna have a huge role for Drake Maye,” said Wolfe, when speaking with Taylor Kyles on the CLNS Media Network. “They hired him for a reason. They think that he’s a quarterback savant. He’s been a former head coach, and there’s a thought there that he can develop Drake Maye. So not saying that he’s going to have more [of a] role than Alex Van Pelt. But, I’d say that Ben McAdoo is gonna have a really significant role in developing Drake Maye.”

McAdoo has a proven track record of helping develop and scout quarterbacks. Whenever people think of his track record as a head coach, it’s proven that he has been able to identify and analyze the quarterback position at a high level.

Brian Hoyer believes Drake Maye was safe pick for Patriots

Drake Maye needs work, but his upside is the reason he was worth the No. 3 pick, according to Brian Hoyer.

The dissection of the New England Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye’s talents has begun. The NFL draft concluded on Saturday, and now it’s time for the rookie class to begin to make a statement.

The offensive unit has been completely rebuilt. A new quarterback, two new wide receivers, two offensive linemen and a tight end make up a new-look unit following the draft.

As expected, there are some questions about Maye’s ability. Former Patriots quarterback Brian Hoyer reacted to the pick and claimed he understood why New England picked the former North Carolina quarterback. He pinpointed the quarterback’s upside as a reason why he was a smart selection.

“It’s a safe pick, because it’s a new era. The fan base wants a quarterback, and they draft the one who has the most upside,” said Hoyer, via NBC Sports Boston. “I think that’s what it is. You’re drafting Drake Maye for his upside. You’re not drafting him for really what he did in college. I think you’re kind of hitting that on the head. He is inconsistent. His footwork is off. All of those things. But the things that he flashes, that’s what you’re drafting.”

There is no doubt that Maye is going to be a project, especially as a rookie. Nevertheless, New England did a solid job of surrounding him with offensive talent in the draft, which should make his development process a little bit easier.

The work he does between now and the start of training camp especially will play a big factor in his development.

QB Drake Maye plans to learn from Patriots legend

Patriots rookie QB Drake Maye is looking forward to meeting the GOAT

New England Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye is excited to meet Tom Brady during his retirement ceremony with the organization in June. Maye also plans to do a little bit of learning from Brady when he has a chance.

The Patriots’ 2024 first-round draft pick will look to be a successful successor for Brady, following the failure of the Mac Jones era. The quarterback has already shown tremendous confidence in the Patriots offense by not buying into the notion that New England will be a tough place for a rookie quarterback to succeed.

Now, he is looking forward to learning from one of the greats ahead of his first NFL season.

If there was ever a time to learn about the ins and outs of playing the quarterback position at the next level, this would be it. Hopefully, Maye will have a notebook handy.

There’s one thing Drake Maye and Mac Jones will have in common

Drake Maye will be wearing a familiar jersey number in New England

New England Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye confirmed on Friday that he will be wearing the No. 10 jersey number in the NFL. This was the same number he wore in high school and at North Carolina.

The No. 10 jersey was previously held by former Patriots quarterback Mac Jones. Jimmy Garoppolo also wore the number during his time in New England from 2014-2016. Damiere Byrd, Austin Collie and Josh Gordon were also notable names to wear that number.

Jones was shipped off in a trade to the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency for a sixth-round draft pick. So Maye is being brought in to lead the way into the future as the new franchise quarterback for the rebuilding Patriots.

Time will tell how Maye does in New England. At the very least, the team put nearly all of its efforts into adding offensive pieces in the draft. The objective is clearly making things way more accommodating for this No. 10 than it was for the previous one.

WATCH: Inside Patriots draft room during Drake Maye selection

A behind-the-scenes look at the moment Drake Maye became a Patriot

At long last, Thursday was the opening round of the 2024 NFL draft.

All of those months of preparation, pro days and pre-draft visits led to the New England Patriots choosing the future by selecting North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye at No. 3 overall.

The Patriots’ Twitter account gave us an exclusive video inside the draft room, right as Maye was about to be selected. Everyone, from de facto general manager Eliot Wolf to coach Jerod Mayo, had a chance to talk with the quarterback before the selection.

Robert Kraft was the last one to take the call to welcome the Patriots’ new rookie quarterback to the organization.

It’s always fun to see behind-the-scenes footage from the draft rooms. By the looks of it, the entire Patriots’ organization look pleased and eager to get the organization back on track.