The New England Patriots decided not to trade the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and used it to select University of North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye.
The Patriots badly needed an upgrade at quarterback after their offense tied for the fewest points scored last season at 13.9 per game.
The draft room at Gillette Stadium on Thursday night had a lot of people in it -- a sign of the more collaborative approach the franchise is taking with the draft compared to recent years.
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When the Patriots were on the clock with the No. 3 pick, they called Maye and he spoke to several people -- including de facto general manager Eliot Wolf, head coach Jerod Mayo and team owner Robert Kraft -- before walking to the draft stage and hugging league commissioner Roger Goodell.
Check out the scene in the video below:
Maye is just the third quarterback the Patriots have selected in Round 1 over the last 35 years, joining Mac Jones (No. 15, 2021) and Drew Bledsoe (No. 1, 1993).
Maye completed 63.3 percent of his pass attempts for 3,608 yards with 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 12 games for North Carolina last season. His best campaign with the Tar Heels came in 2022, when he completed 66.2 percent of his passes for 4,321 yards with 38 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Maye was named ACC Offensive Player of the Year in 2022.
