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According to a report from Albert Breer, the Patriots are hosting North Carolina QB Drake Maye for a 30-visit on Friday.
About a half hour later, Ian Rapoport reported that LSU QB and Heisman Trophy winnerJayden Daniels will be in town on Monday.
The debate has raged on since December about whether or not Maye or Daniels should go third overall in the NFL Draft, with Michigan’s JJ McCarthy building momentum lately too. This critical time for the Patriots is one they can’t screw up and these are the first of what could be a handful of interesting names visiting Gillette.
Presumably, McCarthy, and maybe even Washington’s Michael Penix should also end up getting a call if the team is doing its due diligence. It’ll be interesting to see if the Pats tip their hand at all bringing in guys from different positions or strictly QB’s. Penix could be an indicator of a trade down and big name tackles or wide receivers could do the same.
A strong indication that the Patriots may just want Maye at No. 3 is the fact that this will be his third meeting with the team. Maye also met with the Patriots before his Pro Day last week and during the week of the NFL Combine.
When talking about Maye at the owner’s meetings, new head coach Jerod Mayo had some high praise for Maye before walking it back a bit. Although, his point about Maye’s inexperience (comparatively speaking) could ultimately end up helping his case.
“Drake Maye had a fantastic interview at the combine,” he said. “He brings a lot of energy. You can tell he has that leadership ability. Also, the exciting part about a guy like Drake Maye, there is really no ceiling with a guy like that. In saying that, when we’re trying to put together this roster, I know a lot of people look at the ceiling.
“But, you also have to look at how low the floor is. I would say a guy like Drake Maye – he has a lot of room to grow. He’s a young guy. Honestly, he hasn’t played football nearly as much as these other guys. So, that’s definitely something we’ve looked at, but he’s definitely going to develop.”
Over the last two years in 26 games, Maye threw for 7,929 yards with 62 touchdowns and just 16 interceptions. he also ran for 1,147 yards too. While Daniels is ultimately more athletic, Maye showed his athleticism at his Pro Day and throughout ACC competition.
As far as Daniels goes, the ability to sell the reigning Heisman winner as your new face of the franchise is an idea the Krafts wouldn’t hate one bit. New England also had a whopping nine staff members at his Pro Day including Mayo. There is question about whether or not Daniels can physically hold up in the NFL – especially if the O-line is terrible again – but he’s also widely considered to be the next Lamar Jackson.
During the Heisman campaign last year, Daniels threw for 3, 812 yards and 40 TD’s with just four picks. He also had 1,134 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns on 35 attempts. The electricity is there and if Maye happened to go second overall – or if McCarthy somehow jumped to No. 2 and they had their choice – it’d certainly be hard to pass up on this potential.
This is more or less standard procedure than anything else with both of these visits, but it’s also a position most Patriots fans have never seen the team in. Regardless of what side of the fence you’re on when it comes to the future of the third pick, any name that pops up in Patriots-related discussion the next two weeks will draw intrigue and debate.
That’s what makes draft season so fun…until draft night.