Drake Maye’s Surprising Rise and Contested Draft: From UNC Star to Washington Commanders Pick over New England Patriots Negotiations

Although there had been much speculation surrounding J.J. McCarthy’s potential ascent up the ranks, it seemed that Drake Maye was set for selection in third place overall during this draft period. However, the question of which team would ultimately make him their pick recently arose when it became clear that negotiations between Maye and the New England Patriots weren’t going quite as smoothly as expected. In actual fact, Washington Commanders selected Maye at number two.
Maye’s rise to second place in this year’s quarterback rankings was somewhat unexpected given Caleb Williams had been consistently considered the best player of his class up until recently when Jayden Daniels impressed with an exceptional Heisman Trophy campaign that pushed him ahead of Maye in terms of overall ranking.
During his time at North Carolina, where he played for two seasons (26 games), Maye accumulated a remarkable 7,929 passing yards and achieved a completion rate of 64.9%. He threw an impressive total of 88 touchdowns – including 62 through the air and another 16 on foot – during this period while intercepting just 16 passes along the way. In recognition of his exceptional performance in 2022, Maye was named to the All-ACC first team; he also earned a place on the second team last year after an equally impressive showing.
The New England Patriots selected Mac Jones from Alabama with their pick at number fifteen during the previous draft (in 2021). Despite helping them reach the playoffs that same season, recent years have been less kind to the Pats as they missed out on post-season action in both of the following two campaigns. In fact, last year’s performance was particularly disappointing with a record of just four wins and thirteen losses – their worst since 2000 when they managed only five victories all season long. With Jones having recently moved to back up Trevor Lawrence at Jacksonville, New England finds itself in need not simply for new talent but also greater overall firepower as it tries once more to compete among the best of teams across this most highly contested league.
The Patriots’ current receiving corps is somewhat underwhelming and includes KJ Osborn, Kendrick Bourne, DeMario Douglas, and Jalen Reagor – a situation that Maye may be able to help redress should he succeed in making the transition from college football into life as an NFL player.
This year’s draft represents something of a turning point for New England with Jerod Mayo stepping up following Bill Belichick’s decision last week finally, and firmly to terminate his working relationship – thereby bringing one era of exceptional coaching within the game drawing finally (albeit sadly) to its conclusion after an astonishing six Super Bowl wins during this same period.
ESPN has reported that both Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants had been actively pursuing Maye via phone with hopes they could bring him aboard ahead of a Patriots pick being officially announced; it remains unclear whether either team’s offer was ultimately accepted by the Pats, but one thing is for certain: With his arrival at Foxborough looking increasingly likely (following official publication to confirm these plans as confirmed reports would imply) it may yet turn out that there were other teams who wished they had moved more quickly in their efforts to secure Maye’s services.