What Mack Brown Told Patriots During Pre-Draft Drake Maye Chat

Less than an hour after the New England Patriots selected Drake Maye with the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, de facto general manager Eliot Wolf and first-year head coach Jerod Mayo expressed confidence in Maye because they got to know him as both a football player and person.

The Patriots met with Maye on multiple occasions, including a trip to North Carolina for the Tar Heels Pro Day. During that trip, Mayo and company spoke with longtime and well-respected coach Mack Brown. Mayo, specifically, said he received a “glowing recommendation” from the Tar Heels head coach and noted how that conversation eased any nerves about drafting Maye.

Brown, a 46-year coaching veteran, met with a handful of New England reporters on a video conference Monday and relayed what he told Mayo and company during the pre-draft process.

“I’ve learned that I want the high school coach to tell me the truth in recruiting, so I’m very honest with the NFL coaches,” Brown said. “This is important to them.

“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.’

I just told him, ‘If I was the coach of the Patriots, I would want Drake Maye.’

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Mack Brown on conversations with Jerod Mayo

Brown’s recommendation to Mayo was echoed throughout the pre-draft process and again Monday. Brown praised Maye for his toughness, competitiveness and ability to lead a rocker room with his mix of positive reinforcement and constructive criticism.

Brown even spoke to the Maye athletic and authentic family, along with the quarterback’s longtime girlfriend. Maye introduced his three brothers and girlfriend to reporters during his introductory press conference at Gillette Stadium.

“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.”

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Brown also relayed a story as to how Maye included other position groups whenever he was approached with an NIL deal. It was one of the many ways Maye proved his worth as a teammate.

“So if they came and said, ‘We want you to do this advertisement.’ He said, ‘Well, the offensive linemen need to be with me, and they need to be paid.’ Or, ‘Well, we want you to get fed through the seafood company for the year.’ And he said, ‘That’s great, the receivers and their families need to get fed, too.'”

But Brown made it clear to New England’s organization the competitor they were getting, too.

“He is not coming to Boston to lose,” Brown said.

It seems that message was heard loud and clear throughout the Patriots organization.