With the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots officially selected Drake Maye, the highly talented quarterback from the University of North Carolina. This was expected from an organization that desperately needed a new face of the franchise, and it looks like Maye is going to fill those shoes in no time. Under a new coaching and executive regime, it should be very interesting to see how well he will play in his rookie season, and how much the rest of the team around him will step up as well. While it is too early to say if he should be the full-time starter or not, there is at least more hope with Maye as the starting quarterback for the Patriots than there was when they drafted Mac Jones just three years ago. Let’s see five things that we could expect from this offense in 2024 and see if it will be ten times better or just as worse as how the team played the year before.
Drake Maye, You Are a Patriot
1. Drake Maye’s Arm Talent is Undeniably Spectacular
The biggest reason why Maye had this much stock heading into the NFL Draft is because he has one of the strongest arms out of any quarterback that was taken in the first round. Several scouts compared him to guys like Josh Allen and Justin Herbert, two generational talents who are now the current faces of their respective franchises. Now that the Patriots have Maye, fans will be excited because he is more willing to push the ball down the field, but they could also be scratching their heads since he is not afraid to throw it into tight coverages that could go back the other way. There is no denying that Maye is going to need a lot of time to learn what it takes to become a true starting quarterback, but he will get there with the right amount of discipline and mental preparation.
2. Brissett Will Be a Quality Bridge
General manager Elliot Wolf made a smart decision by bringing back quarterback Jacoby Brissett to serve as the initial starter for at least the first few weeks of the season, because if Maye was thrown into the fire that early, the Patriots would have fallen into the same trap that they did with Mac Jones. Even though he showed tremendous promise in 2021, the organization just continued to fail him and his confidence kept shattering week after week. Now that Brissett will take control of the offense at the beginning of the year, Maye will be able to sit back and learn from somebody who has experienced plenty of trials and tribulations in his NFL career. Brissett knows the offense that Alex Van Pelt wants to run because the two worked together with the Cleveland Browns just a couple of years ago, so there is no reason to rush Maye at all whatsoever until the organization feels that he is ready to take center stage.
3. The Patriots are One Wide Receiver Away
Who knows how long it has been since the Patriots had a game-changing X wide receiver? If this new offense is truly going to improve and revive into a respectable unit, they need to take a wide receiver with their second pick in the second round of this draft. Georgia wideout Ladd McConckey and Texas stud Adonai Mitchell are still on the board, and if Jerod Mayo and Elliot Wolf really want to make this a successful offseason, then those are the two players that need to be on the top of their wishlist. Jakobi Meyers and Julian Edelman might have been capable number-one options, but the Patriots need a receiver that is going to open up the whole rest of the offense because the fans cannot take another year where nobody can gain any sort of separation whatsoever.
4. The O-Line Still Causes Concern
Ever since Dante Scarnecchia retired, the offensive line has never been the same juggernaut that it was during those dynastic seasons. Michael Onwenu might be their permanent right tackle for the foreseeable future, but there are still a couple of gaping holes that need to be filled. The first is finding a blindside protector that will make sure Maye has plenty of time left in the pocket. Trent Brown left in free agency, and because Onwenu will convert to a tackle, New England needs to find a serviceable right guard. Cole Strange and David Andrews have been reliable starters since they have been with the franchise, but if Maye cannot get rid of the ball quickly, then this offensive line is going to be one that will hold this unit back from its true potential. The AFC East, let alone the entire conference, is tougher now than it has ever been before. Where the Patriots were once near the top of the tier, they have now fallen back to the bottom, so re-solidifying the line needs to be a big priority if they want to move back up one spot.
5. More Swagger Than Ever Before
Now that Jerod Mayo is the new head coach of the Patriots, there might be more swagger and conference in the building than they have had in a very long time. Bill Belichick will always be a revered idol in the small town of Foxboro, but him leaving might be the sign of a fresh start and a new era to set into stone. It is doubtful that the Patriots are going to make it back to the playoffs, but they have pieces in place that will bring this team back to respectability. They have a personable head coach that will serve as an inspiration to all of his players, rookie or veteran because he knows what it takes to win in this league and how much stronger they have to be if they want to accomplish the goals they have in place. They drafted the franchise quarterback that New England needed since Tom Brady left in 2019, and with his confidence and strong arm, the fanbase is going to Leo what he will bring to the table sooner rather than later. They have plenty of their best defensive players returning from injury, their top offensive guys will be back for the next two to three seasons, and the new coaching staff is going to be ten times better than what the Patriots had in the last two years. One thing is for sure: New England is going to win more than four games this time around.
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