Scout Issues Bold NFL Comparison for Drake Maye's Rookie Year

What does year one hold for the New England Patriots' signal caller?

Apr 25, 2024; Detroit, MI, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Drake Maye poses with NFL / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The New England Patriots have effectively given themselves a new sense of clarity for the direction of their franchise moving forward after their recent selection of third-overall QB Drake Maye. Now with a new man under center leading the charge with a sky-high ceiling to develop into, it brings more optimism to an offense that hasn't had much to hang their hat on in the past three seasons.

But when taking a look as to what we can expect from Maye going into his first year in Foxboro, it's a bit hard to project at this point. He's still a raw, young prospect with a few technicals to iron out before we consider him one of the premier talents in the league.

Still, some around the NFL are starting to pin predictions on how we could see Maye's 2024 pan out on this Patriots roster.

When speaking to anonymous scouts about the potential Maye has in this Patriots offense for year one, Doug Kyed of The Boston Herald says one AFC East scout sees some similarities between the UNC signal-caller and current Jacksonville Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence.

“If [Drake Maye] starts, I’d say something like Trevor Lawrence’s rookie year, in terms of stats,” the scout said. “Probably more TD’s than that, but that’s the ballpark.”

When looking back to Lawrence's rookie year in 2021, it came with it's fair share of ups and downs before he came to develop into the player he is today. Through 17 games, he had 3,641 passing yards, 12 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions with his brief stint under Urban Meyer.

Those numbers aren't jumping off the page by any means, but it does make for some interesting parallels between the two quarterbacks. Lawrence entered Jacksonville with a shaky supporting cast, a first-year NFL head coach, and possessed several physical tools that made him stand out as a potential franchise-shifting player.

It took some time for the development to come to form, but the Jaguars would soon make their run to an AFC divisional game just one year later. Jacksonville managed to put an ample supporting cast around their number-one overall pick, and the Clemson product then managed to produce.

It's very much possible we could see the Patriots fall into the same mold with Maye. Even if the wins don't stack onto the board in 2024, there's enough upside to still hold faith in this core even past this season.

This rebuild could be an extensive process. There are still some holes within the Patriots' weapons, the offensive line has a few questions, and we don't quite know what to expect from rookie HC Jerod Mayo. At the very least, though, New England has their guy to lean on for the foreseeable future.