AFC Assistant Coach Thinks This Prospect ‘Perfect For’ Patriots

There’s been a divide over how NFL scouts and evaluators view Drake Maye, especially when it comes to how the North Carolina product fits with the Patriots.

New England will have its choice of quarterback after the Washington Commanders presumably take theirs at No. 2. It’s expected that Maye and J.J. McCarthy will be available at No. 3 with Jayden Daniels going second overall.

Maye largely has been the consensus pick for New England among analysts, but de facto general manager Eliot Wolf was reportedly “pushing hard” for McCarthy, which is why there is a debate over who the Patriots should select.

NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero on Friday released his annual look at the quarterbacks in the draft through the eyes of executives, scouts and coaches, and one AFC assistant coach believed Maye should be the pick for the Patriots.

“There’s a lot of that on film: Bad pocket awareness, there’s some bad plays,” the assistant coach told Pelissero. “But he’s just a big athlete that can really throw it. To me, he’s perfect for New England (which holds the No. 3 pick) because they’ve got Jacoby (Brissett). I think he’d be perfect there to sit for a year. He is the biggest high-ceiling, low-floor guy. Because he’s immature. Not bad immature — he’s just like a kid.”

Wolf on Thursday supported the notion that Brissett can be someone a young quarterback can rely on. It also confirmed the idea that the 31-year-old is the bridge quarterback if New England takes a signal-caller with the third overall pick.

Head coach Jerod Mayo and Wolf kept the door open for a trade down, but reports indicate it would take a massive offer to force New England not to take one of the top signal-callers in the draft.