Some news and notes on this Friday:
Toughness & Intangibles Stood Out with Maye
Coming off of Thursday night’s selection of Drake Maye with the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Patriots find themselves with a new young signal-caller with plenty of upside as they try and turn things around on offense.
Maye certainly has all the physical traits. At 6’4″, 223 pounds, he’s a big player and provides the size and toughness at quarterback that you certainly need in today’s NFL. Many have made the comparison to Josh Allen in terms of his build and his athleticism, with Maye also not afraid to take off and run with the ball if he sees an opening.
Hopefully, unlike Allen, Maye quickly learns when to cut his losses and get down or out of bounds. That’s an area that Allen has repeatedly admitted he needs to get better at, given the physical beating he took over the course of the first couple of seasons where he was a little too reckless.
During his college tenure, Maye definitely took his own fair share of hits, with the North Carolina QB enduring some shots where there were times it didn’t look like he’d get up. Still, he bounced back up and kept slinging it, which is something Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said stood out to him as they were going through the process.
“The thing that most impressed me about him, he would get smacked and just get right back up. Right?” said Mayo. “That’s the same trait – you had a guy like Tom Brady – not saying that he’s Tom, but just that mentality. Same thing with Joe Burrow. Like, those guys just keep getting back up and continuing playing at a high level, and that was like the ‘Ah Ha’ moment for me.”
In addition to his toughness, de-facto GM Eliot Wolf also lauded Maye’s leadership, with Wolf pointing out that among the top guys in this year’s group, Maye was the only one who continually went out and talked to reporters following a loss. That’s something that showed him a lot about who Maye is in terms of being a leader for the team.
“He was one of the only quarterbacks in this draft that went up there after every loss and handled the media,” said Wolf. “Not that the Chapel Hill media is as tough as you guys are, but he handled it with grace, with class. Watching those press conferences, there were a lot of times where the reporters were trying to get him to throw somebody under the bus and he wouldn’t do it. He’s a 21-year old kid but he’s very mature and understands what it means to be a leader.”
In the meantime, Mayo said that Maye has a long way to go before he’s starting under center for his new team, with a lot of work to put in as he begins his tenure in the NFL. He obviously believes Maye has what it takes to get there, but now the real work will start as the rookie’s journey begins.
“We’re not sitting here saying that Drake is our starting quarterback. I think he understands that,” said Mayo. “He understands the things that he has to get better at, and with coaching and once again, the hard work, and the coaches that we have, the support system from ownership. I think he has a chance to go out there and really play at a high level.”
“You can talk about potential all you want to, until you reach it, it really doesn’t matter. But we do know the man. We know the man is a hard worker, and he’s going to do everything he can to be successful.”
Patriots, Aiyuk Trade Coming?
Ian Rapoport reported last night that San Francisco’s Brandon Aiyuk appears to be a potential trade candidate for New England, with the 34th overall pick potentially being a chip the club may use to acquire him.
San Francisco selected Florida wide receiver Ricky Pearsall last night, potentially setting themselves up for the future should Aiyuk ultimately end up being moved.
The key thing from there may simply be whether or not the Patriots can also come to an agreement for an extension for the 26-year-old, with the cost expected to be high given where the wide receiver market has already gone this offseason.
Kendrick Bourne recently did a little campaigning for his former teammate, admitting he’d like to see him on the field for the Patriots in 2024.
“I want Aiyuk,” said Bourne via Boston.com’s Khari Thompson. “He’s my guy, and I think he’ll fit in. Just being a one-on-one receiver at X. He can take a whole half of the field and dominate and create a lot of attention for himself. That’s big in our offense, the X receiver?”
Odds and Ends
Tom Curran reported last night that after Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh spent some significant time talking up J.J. McCarthy ahead of the draft, Eliot Wolf reportedly called his bluff and inquired on quarterback Justin Herbert. He reportedly wasn’t alone, as the Vikings apparently also inquired. However, Adam Schefter wrote on Friday that while Los Angeles did field calls, GM Joe Hortiz said on Thursday “that is never an option,” referring to his young quarterback. Credit Wolf for exploring all the avenues while providing a calm and steady demeanor throughout this entire process. There’s still a long way to go to see what they do beyond Maye, but so far, Wolf’s been as advertised. … Wolf was asked what it was like to make the pick, and he admitted he’d been waiting for that moment. “It was a lot of excitement,” he said of making the selection of Maye. “Been waiting a long time for the moment to be able to sit here with someone like Jerod and just kind of collaborate and try to do what’s right for the organization. But there was a lot of excitement in the draft room from the scouts and the coaches and just kind of the new direction that we’re taking the team.” … When asked what Patriots fans can expect, Maye said they can expect a guy who loves competing. “A competitor and a winner,” said Maye. “I think that’s the main two things that come to mind. It doesn’t matter if I’m racing you out the door, or on the football field competing. I think I’m competing to win. That’s what Patriots Nation is about. That’s what they know how to do, and I’m ready to come in and do that.”
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
