Drake Maye goes north, as New England takes former UNC QB at No. 3 in NFL Draft

DETROIT

Drake Maye will start his NFL career in the place that Tom Brady and Bill Belichick made famous, as he was drafted No. 3 overall Thursday night by the New England Patriots.

Wearing a gray suit coupled with Carolina blue tie and Air Jordans, Maye had a long day of waiting and rumors before the No. 3 overall pick was finally announced at 8:33 p.m. before approximately 150,000 fans in Detroit. Then Maye got to hug his family and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

After Southern Cal QB Caleb Williams went No. 1 to the Chicago Bears and LSU QB Jayden Daniels was drafted No. 2 by the Washington Commanders, Maye went No. 3. All that was expected, but the team Maye would go to had been in question for months.

While rumors of trade-ups by the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings dominated the pre-draft conversation in Detroit, the Pats ended up staying pat and took Maye. There the rookie will compete with veteran Jacoby Brissett (formerly of N.C. State) and Bailey Zappe for the starting job.

Maye spent part of NFL Draft eve playing 4-on-4 full-contact basketball with his three older brothers and several other people. Although the Patriots and new head coach Jerod Mayo probably weren’t thrilled to hear that, they hadn’t drafted Maye as of yet and didn’t have any sort of hold on him.

Texted Mark Maye about the hoops battle: “Wasn’t hyper competitive. But they had a good time with it. ‘Friendly’ 4-on-4.”

While Maye’s three brothers all made an appearance with their brother at the NFL Draft in Detroit — Luke Maye flying in from Japan where he is in the middle of a pro basketball season to do so — UNC football coach Mack Brown did not.

There were a number of other celebrities with Carolina connections around however. Steve Smith Sr. was on set with NFL Network in Detroit, and Cam Newton was working the red carpet, interviewing draft prospects for the very same employer.

Newton interviewed Maye on the red carpet before the draft, and Maye was obviously happy to talk with one of his childhood heroes. “He’s my MVP,” Maye said of Newton, noting that his family had had Carolina Panthers season tickets for years.

Newton then said that he and Maye both had a “special place” in their hearts for the 704 area code and joked that Maye was the “runt” of the Maye brothers, who are all at least 6-foot-7 except for Drake, measured at 6-foot-4 at the combine.

Maye, 21, was the ACC Player of the Year as a redshirt freshman in 2022 for UNC and then was second-team All-ACC in 2023, when his numbers were slightly down from his record-breaking 2022. He played high school football primarily at Myers Park in Charlotte, where one year he had a staggering 50/2 touchdown/interception ratio.

“I’m ready to go compete,” Maye told NFL Network shortly after the pick. “Let’s go.”

This story was originally published April 25, 2024, 8:33 PM.