Safe to say that Drake Maye wouldn’t have been the Patriots’ selection if Bill Belichick was still running the front office.
The legendary New England head coach made an appearance on ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show to break down the NFL Draft and had a notable take on his former team’s third-overall pick.
“His footwork needs a lot of work,” the legendary coach said of Maye, breaking down some of his tape. “Here, he’s all over the place. Never rests his feet. Never really gets in position to throw. Gets strip-sacked. Too much hopping around. Step up and throw.”
“He’s gonna need some work in reading defences, reading coverages.”
Maye, who was a two-year starter at North Carolina, seemed the consensus choice for most analysts at that spot. The 21-year-old signal-caller has been a top college player, throwing for 8,018 yards with 63 touchdowns to 16 interceptions throughout his time in Chapel Hill.
That wasn’t enough time behind centre for Belichick though, as the coach made it clear that he believes Maye needs some “time and experience” to fully settle into his role.
“Very talented kid. Good size, runs well, has a good arm. Just, he hasn’t played very much. Doesn’t have a lot of experience.”
He also harped on Maye comparing himself to Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen, saying that the AFC East rival QB is a “pretty special player now,” but agreed that there are some similarities regarding his size and athleticism.
New England has struggled under centre since losing Tom Brady, cycling through guys like Cam Newton, Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe and Brian Hoyer. The hope is that Maye is able to remedy their woes and be the new face of their franchise.
Though he may not have been Belichick’s QB of choice, this is the first time in 24 seasons that the Patriots are working without his guiding influence in the front office and coaching staff.
In his place, de facto GM Eliot Wolf and rookie head coach OJ Mayo saw a lot more upside from the athletic Maye, both on the field and off.
“He was one of the only quarterbacks in this draft that went up there after every loss and handled the media,” Wolf said. “He handled it with grace, with class. 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.”
