Patriots Country

Patriots Send Clear Message to Drake Maye Early in NFL Draft

The New England Patriots selections across Day One and Day Two of the NFL Draft send a clear message.

Kevin Sinclair

Jan 5, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) warms up before the start of the game against the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
Jan 5, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) warms up before the start of the game against the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images
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Only time will tell how far Drake Maye can take the New England Patriots.

As the old saying goes, ‘A fisherman is only as good as their knowledge, experience, and equipment.’

The former Tar Heel gained plenty of knowledge and experience since he was selected third overall a year ago. As for his equipment, the data shines a bright light on what Maye had (and didn’t have) around him last season.

New England finished second to last in total yards, dead last in passing yards, and 30th among 32 NFL offenses..

The finger shouldn’t be pointed in Maye’s direction, though. He ranked in the top half in interceptions, turning it over just 10 times despite the persistent disruptions, collapsing pockets, and recurring impossible situations. Yet the positives were impossible to miss.

What Maye portrayed at the position under circumstances that were often downright brutal gave many hope for the future, so long as a true primary target would take shape, if the receiver roster could threaten defenses vertically on Sundays, and if a hard-charging workhorse emerged out of the backfield.

The product of Charlotte showed the resiliency, the mental and physical toughness, the escape-ability and high-end athleticism, the leadership, and the type of character required to blossom into the franchise quarterback the top brass expects Maye to become.

Last night, after proving their dedication to the returning QB1 - selecting the top left tackle in the 2025 Draft class at No. 4 overall in Will Campbell - the decision-makers entered Day Two with three valuable draft picks to cash in.

By the end of the night, New Orleans had used all four of its Day One and Day Two selections to upgrade the talent around Maye.

‘I’ll fight and die to protect (Maye) with everything I’ve got,’ Campbell said as he was introduced to the Patriots media and onlooking fans. He didn’t know it at the time, but Campbell would soon be joined by another one of the most anticipated offensive lineman in the 2025 draft class.

Mike Onwenu and Morgan Moses project well on the right side of center, but questions remained at left guard and/or center. It’s why drafting Jared Wilson felt like a smart and productive decision with Pick 69, another level of reinforcement unlikely to disappoint.

Pro Football Focus ranked the 6-foot-3, 310-pound Georgia Bulldog the No. 1 center available heading into this week. It meant adding the best possible interior lineman through the draft, and the bona fide No. 1 tackle.

With significant progress on that front, it was surprising to see New England put the receiver position and the entire defense on hold between Round 1 and Round 3 to take a run at one of the most NFL-ready running backs among recent draft classes - national champion TreVeyon Henderson.

First, Henderson is fully capable of taking on a feature back-level workload immediately. Secondly, he’s one of the most capable receivers among the running backs available, recording 77 catches for 853 yards and six touchdowns in Columbus.

After averaging 6.8 yards per carry as a true freshman with 1,248 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns that year, Henderson battled injuries over the following two seasons. Even so, he still managed over 1,500 rushing yards and 18 total touchdowns across 2022 and 2023, While he recorded over 1,000 rushing yards again last fall, playing in 16 games, Henderson built a reputation as arguably the very best pass-blocking running back in the country.

.It’s more music to Maye’s ears. Moreover, while some were frustrated to not see a receiver in one of the first two rounds, the Patriots found excellent value at Pick 77 in the third round, selecting Kyle Williams.

As some Patriots fans expressed disappointment in the Washington State Cougar who is much lesser known than many of his peers, New England fans need to know that not one of the 15 best receivers in the draft class - a group Williams belonged to - scored more touchdowns than the newly-minted Patriot (14).

Among those above-mentioned 15 NFL-bound receivers, only Tetairoa McMillan (1,319) generated more receiving yards than Williams (1,198) last year.

For Maye, his bosses put their money where their mouths are, bolstering the offensive front inside and out with two powerhouse linemen from the top-end of the SEC, supercharging the backfield with an established national champ, and adding 4.40 speed to the perimeter, one of the most productive pass-catchers across the FBS landscape in 2024.

Thanks to the concerted effort from the top brass, reinforcements have arrived, and there are four more rounds of draft picks ahead this evening.

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Kevin Sinclair
KEVIN SINCLAIR

Kevin Sinclair writes coverage of the Pitt Panthers along with the Baltimore Ravens, the New England Patriots, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Tennessee Titans for On SI. Previously, he was a recruiting reporter and managing editor at Irish Illustrated, the privately-owned Notre Dame site within the 247Sports Network, for over seven-and-a-half years. Kevin studied multimedia journalism and has been a sports writer for nearly a decade.

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