Going into the 2023 college football season, North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye was considered the second-best prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft.
He ended up being taken No. 3 overall by the New England Patriots in April as the franchise hopes they found their next franchise quarterback. Maye went after Caleb Williams who was No. 1 to the Chicago Bears and Jayden Daniels who went No. 2 to the Washington Commanders.
This might be the best fit for Maye and during the process, the Patriots were able learn a lot about the quarterback. That included a few meetings with Maye including one at his pro day where they also got to meet with Mack Brown and the head coach had a lot of praise for his quarterback.
Here is what Brown said via NESN:
“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.’
“He’s an unbelievable person,” Brown said. “He’s one of the nicest, toughest, most competitive, young people I’ve ever been around. I’ve said often I would adopt him. He’s that perfect of a kid. It sounds kind of corny, but it’s true.”
That’s expected from Brown who coached Maye for three years and was able to get him to switch his commitment from Alabama to North Carolina. But it was also a sign of respect for Patriots coach Jerod Mayo who is in his first year as head coach.
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