NFL Exec: Drake Maye a 'Stud,' Patriots 'Absolutely Nailed' QB Pick in 2024 NFL Draft

The New England Patriots impressed a rival NFL executive with their decision to select Drake Maye with the No. 3 pick of the 2024 draft.

"He's such a stud," the executive told The Athletic's Jeff Howe. "They absolutely nailed that pick. They were patient in the draft, waited and got their guy. That was awesome. He's got such a powerful arm. That arm is the real deal.

"He's a leader, just a great person. They got the right guy."

The New York Giants offered the Patriots a package including the No. 6 pick and a 2025 first-rounder to trade up in last April's draft, but New England held onto their top-three pick in order to select the quarterback out of UNC.

The praise from the anonymous executive echoed the way Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay described Maye after his team defeated the Patriots in Week 11.

"You look at it, and you can really see his ability to create off-schedule," McVay said after the Nov. 17 matchup, per NBC Sports' Justin Leger. "I thought he did a great job of being able to make plays in the pocket today, extend drives. I thought he was patient, taking some underneath check-downs where guys were able to create. We had tighter coverages, and he was able to fit the ball into tight windows.

"He looks like a stud. I didn't do too much work on him coming out. I do know a lot of people that studied him really hard that I truly respect their opinions loved what he was all about. You can see just the impact that he has on his teammates, the way people talk about him here. He looks like he's going to be a special player for a long time, and he gave us fits today."

Maye took over for the Patriots in Week 6 after five weeks of watching Jacoby Brissett start.

The plan heading into the season had been for Maye to eventually become the Patriots' starter. Head coach Jerod Mayo said ahead of Week 2 that Brissett and Maye were splitting starter's reps 70/30, as opposed to a usual 95/5 split for starter and backup.

That timeline may have been moved up by Brissett's struggles while leading an offense ranked 31st in the NFL in yards and points per game.

Many of the Patriots' problems persisted in the eight games following Brissett's benching. The team has gone 2-6 behind Maye, who has completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 1,674 yards while throwing for 11 touchdown passes and getting picked off eight times.

But the rookie quarterback is coming out of the most efficient passing performance of his career, when he connected on 24 of 30 passes for 238 yards, one touchdown and one interception in a Week 13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

Maye recently said on the team's Patriots All Access show that he hopes to improve his ability to read defensive coverages this offseason. His development through the season so far, in addition to the hope that he will take a larger jump forward in 2025, could make him a candidate to take over as the Patriots' next franchise quarterback.