Drake Maye Or Jayden Daniels? Patriots Insider Floats NFL Draft Theory

Patriots owner Robert Kraft and other members of the organization have said New England selected the quarterback it wanted in the 2024 NFL Draft.

That rookie signal-caller, as you might have heard, is Drake Maye.

But did Kraft and others say that because Maye is the one who fell to them third overall? Would the Patriots have preferred to land Chicago Bears’ top pick Caleb Williams or Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels?

ESPN’s Patriots reporter Mike Reiss believes Eliot Wolf and company would have made a different decision if they had the No. 2 selection.

“I would say if they were second, they would have picked Jayden instead of Drake,” Reiss said Tuesday when he appeared on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Zolak & Bertrand” radio show.

“I do think that. I do think that. I do. I mean, maybe that runs counter to some of the stuff that we’ve heard. But I think Jayden was pretty clear cut around the league in terms of being one of the top two there.”

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Reiss confirmed he did not think the Patriots would have drafted Maye second overall.

“I mean, they haven’t told me one way or the other,” said Reiss, who referenced many of the top draft analysts preferred Daniels over Maye. “It’s not that (much of a) second-guess.”

The head-to-head conversation involving Daniels and Maye gained steam after Daniels had a historic primetime debut against the Cincinnati Bengals on “Monday Night Football.” He accounted for more touchdowns (three) than incompletions (two) and set an NFL record for the highest completion percentage (91.3%) ever by a rookie.

Maye, on the other hand, spent 235 of 240 possible regular-season minutes on the Patriots sideline. Maye did see four-plus minutes in garbage time against the New York Jets on Thursday night, but based on the offensive line in front of him and his near-interception against Gang Green, it would be wise for New England to continue to develop Maye behind the scenes.