Mel Kiper challenges New England Patriots to build correctly around Drake Maye unlike Mac Jones
ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. released his latest mock draft on Wednesday, standing firm on the thought that North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye will be selected No. 3 overall after USC‘s Caleb Williams and LSU‘s Jayden Daniels.
This would send Maye to the New England Patriots, and if that projection becomes a reality, Kiper challenges the franchise to do a better job with Maye compared to how they previously handed former first-round quarterback Mac Jones.
“They better do a better job of helping this kid,” Kiper said Wednesday on SportsCenter‘s NFL Draft Special. “They didn’t do it with Mac Jones after looking good early on, they forgot about him. The o-line, the receivers were not there, they better get the infrastructure around Drake Maye to allow him to not only have success early, but to have a consistent career. Which they did not do with Mac Jones.”
New England selected Jones with the No. 15 overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, which was followed by an impressive rookie season where he was selected for the 2021 Pro Bowl after leading the Patriots to a 10-7 record behind 3,801 yards and 22 touchdown passes.
2021 would unfortunately represent the best season of Jones’ NFL career by far, with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels moving on to become the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. Sending the Patriots offense into complete disarray for the next two seasons.
Jones would start 14 games in 2022 and 11 in 2023, sharing time under center with Bailey Zappe and throwing 24 touchdowns and 23 interceptions during a two-year stretch where the Pats would average just 17.6 points per game.
On the flip side, the Patriots’ lack of success has placed them in a premier position in this year’s draft. Now presented with a golden opportunity to select a new young quarterback and learn from their past mistakes and mismanagement of their previous first-round selection.
“That’s why for New England in a division with Josh Allen, and Tua [Tagovailoa], and Aaron Rodgers and the AFC with [Patrick] Mahomes and all those great quarterbacks you gotta get it right. You gotta have a strong conviction about Drake Maye, if they do, they take him at three and don’t look back,” Kiper said.
It will be intriguing to see if New England selects a quarterback with their No. 3 overall pick like most expect. But what may be even more fascinating is how the franchise decides to develop and properly set up their quarterback for success given their recent shortcomings in doing so.