The New England Patriots opted to remain at pick No. 3 in the 2024 NFL draft last week and take North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye.
While the Patriots have made it clear that Maye isn't guaranteed to be the starter in his rookie season, it's clear that many believe they made a great decision drafting him.
Clyde Christensen, who spent this last season as a North Carolina offensive analyst and has coached both Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, compared some aspects of Maye's game to those of the two legendary quarterbacks.
“You hate to even talk about (Maye) in those sentences with those guys because of the longevity — how they performed so well for so long — but I think he has a lot of the same traits that give you a chance to be great,” Christensen said (via. MassLive). “You need some luck. You need to stay healthy. You need some teammates. You need a lot of things to go with it.
“But he processes information extremely well, a lot like Peyton. He has a humbleness and a humility like Tom that players play for him. He has that kind of humility that just attracts teammates. He’s going to be a great teammate. There’s nobody in our (North Carolina) locker room who you’d find (with) a bad word about him. He just fits in. He’s one of the guys. Yet is able to lead and rally people together and call people out if (he) needs to — but he does it in a good way.”
Maye is young, but it sounds like he has the characteristics to lead a locker room in the NFL and succeed on the field. He just needs to earn the opportunity to do so.
With an experienced veteran in Jacoby Brissett on the roster, Maye will have to prove that he's far and away the best quarterback that the Patriots have before he receives the starter title from head coach Jerod Mayo and company.
