The future in Patriot Nation is now.
And his name is Drake Maye.
He’s a young prototype player at the infinitely important quarterback position.
He has all the physical tools.
And if you believe de facto New England GM Eliot Wolf and first-year coach Jerod Mayo, Maye also brings all the intangibles this or any team could want at the position.
In an NFL world were the quarterback has never mattered more, one where six of the first 12 picks went to the position in Thursday night’s draft, the Patriots got their hands on the guy with arguably the highest ceiling and biggest upside of any of them.
If you aren’t basking in the warm sun that’s literally and figuratively shining on New England this late-April Friday morning, well then that’s a YOU problem.
Because there is not a single legitimate reason to hate on the Patriots’ pick of the North Carolina quarterback with the No. 3 overall selection.
He’s too young? Too inexperienced?
Sorry, overly critical Pat McAfee Show analyst named Bill Belichick, Maye has more experience than the guy you drafted a few years ago at No. 15 overall. And being young means more room for growth and development.
That should be a positive if you have faith in your coaching staff. It’s not like he’ll be guided by some defensive coach who doesn’t know what he’s doing, Alex Van Pelt is actually qualified for his QB-mentoring job.
Maye wasn’t as productive in his second-season as the clear central offensive figure for the Tar Heels as he was in his eye-opening first year as the starter?
True. That means he’s dealt with adversity already and hopefully won’t be broken and crushed under the first sign of it at the professional level. He’s competed with questionable complementary talent and coordinator/scheme changes around him already and proven he can handle the relative stress of it all.
If you think Maye and Mac Jones are similar in almost any way, again that’s a YOU problem.
Regardless of the measure – Maye was worthy of a top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, even if a couple former NFL backup QBs and fullback media critics don’t seem to agree. He’s a potential franchise QB in every sense of the description. And he’s joining a team that needed, more than anything else, a would-be, could-be franchise QB.
Maye’s arrival changes everything in New England. It’s that simple. The air is a little fresher. The flowers a little more beautiful.
As Belichick once said, now every other decision that’s made is in regards to the best way to support the affable, competitive, upbeat young quarterback with so much upside and yet so much to prove.
Jerseys are to be purchased.
Nicknames, slogans and ad campaigns to be work shopped.
The Maye-triot is in town. We are all Maye-niacs.
Once upon a time, the modern new world arrived in New England on the broad decks of the Mayflower. Now, the modern new world of football in New England arrives on the broad shoulders of Maye. In many ways, both were massive leaps of faith.
Of course the ability and hope that Maye represents guarantees nothing. That is a fact.
A year ago this very day the fan bases in both Carolina and Houston felt the very same way that Patriot Nation should feel today.
Emboldened with hope. United in a faithful belief that the losing had been worth it for the payoff that was Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud.
Months later, though, came nothing but more questions for the Panthers and unexpectedly swift success Houston. The future for both franchises was bright. Until it wasn’t.
A potential big draft miss and potentially an even more massive hit. Reality set in for worse and also better.
But that’s a Maye discussion for another day, a day down the line when he takes to the NFL field and deals with all the challenges and pitfalls of the most important and difficult position in all of professional sports.
Today, today is simply about the idea that the Patriots believe they have a franchise quarterback. And all of Patriot Nation should believe it too.
Right now there is no reason to believe the future is anything but bright in New England.
Maye’s arrival indeed changes everything.