Patriots Projected to Land Interesting Playmaker for Drake Maye

The New England Patriots have a franchise quarterback once again in the form of Drake Maye. After an impressive rookie season that saw him take over the starting job much earlier than expected, there are a lot of reasons to be excited about the future.
Maye showed off elite arm talent, top-tier leadership skills, and high football IQ. Even when he made mistakes, he remained calm, cool, and collected. There are some things that can't be taugh, but Maye has the entire package.
That being said, the upcoming offseason is going to be extremely important for Maye's development.
Mike Vrabel has been hired to be the new Patriots' head coach. Josh McDaniels is the team's new offensive coordinator. Both of those moves are major positives for Maye.
New England now needs to focus on adding more talent around Maye.
Bringing in more wide receiver talent and a better offensive line are two of the Patriots' top priorities. If they can make those two improvements, the offense will be in a much better place.
Cam Garrity of USA Today Sports, via The Providence Journal, has provided a new mock draft for New England. In that mock draft, he projected that the Patriots would land Maye an interesting new playmaker in the third round.
With that pick, Garrity has New England selecting Texas Longhorns wide receiver Isaiah Bond.
"Isaiah Bond could be a sneaky steal in the third round as a twitchy receiver with big-play potential and excellent separation," Garrity wrote. "He brings surprising physicality to his game and consistently fights for extra yards after the catch. The Patriots simply cannot afford to continue passing on receivers within the top 100 picks year after year.
"Until they establish a solid receiving core they can rely on, they should keep taking their chances. With the right approach, they could finally become a team known for drafting quality receivers on Day 2."
Bond is coming off of a solid season with the Texas Longhorns in 2024, catching 34 passes for 540 yard and five touchdowns. He played the first two years of his college career with the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Even though his numbers weren't huge, Bond possesses elite speed. He could be a very dangerous slot wide receiver at the NFL level.
For the Patriots, adding more playmaking will be crucial. Bond is the definition of a playmaker.
It's just a projection in a mock draft, but if Bond is still on the board in the third round, New England would make an awful lot of sense as a landing spot for him.