Drake Maye’s Arrival Perfectly Matches Patriots’ Timeline

The Patriots officially have a quarterback.

New England selected Drake Maye with the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft on Thursday, signaling the first landmark decision in what the franchise hopes is its return toward contention.

It isn’t quite that easy, though.

Maye, for as good as he is — and man can he do some impressive things on a football field — is no sure thing. It’s been made abundantly clear by just about anyone with football acumen that the best course of action is to have him sit, and while that might not be something Patriots fans show excitement over, it’s the right move. New England’s decision-making process throughout this offseason was designed with that in mind, as it essentially put pieces in place to support him.

Jacoby Brissett wasn’t brought in to be the face of the franchise. His job is to hold down the fort until Maye is ready. Alex Van Pelt, Ben McAdoo and T.C. McCartney weren’t brought in to revolutionize offensive football. Patriots head executive Eliot Wolf is just familiar with all of them, and their experience working together should help cultivate an environment conducive to learning as they share a unified message. New England’s defense? It shouldn’t be questioned as to whether they’re capable, as it kept a wretched offense in the majority of games last season.

Wolf’s primary objective moving forward is fixing that whole “dreadful offense” thing. It could happen late Thursday, as his cohort Jerod Mayo teased the Patriots could be looking to move back into the first round. It could happen later in the draft. It could take a year, as the clock has already run out on free agency this offseason.

It’s essentially as simple as this.

Maye isn’t ready to save the Patriots and the Patriots aren’t ready to be saved by Maye, but New England has all the pieces to try and align its own window with that of the new face of the franchise.

It isn’t a perfect recipe, but it’s the best the Patriots could cook up this offseason.