Patriots select QB Drake Maye with No. 3 pick in NFL draft - ESPN

The New England Patriots, who previously were «open for business» to trade out of the third pick in the NFL draft, stayed put and selected North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft had referred to this year's draft as the most anticipated in his 31-year tenure, and in Maye, the Patriots believe they've landed the «top-rate, young quarterback» he desired.

The 6-foot-4, 223-pound Maye will initially compete with veteran free-agent signing Jacoby Brissett for the starting job. The Patriots also have 2022 fourth-round pick Bailey Zappe and second-year player Nathan Rourke on the quarterback depth chart.

Maye is the third quarterback the Patriots have drafted in the top-10 in the common draft era, joining Drew Bledsoe (1993) and Jim Plunkett (1971), who both went No. 1 overall.

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The process that led the Patriots to Maye — just the seventh player from North Carolina that New England has drafted in its 64-year history — included several notable meetings.

Director of scouting Eliot Wolf and first-year head coach Jerod Mayo led a large Patriots contingent to see Maye at North Carolina's pro day last month. Maye then visited the team facility on April 5, where his outgoing personality made an impression on some team officials.

Meanwhile, Maye met with Mayo and others from the Patriots' personnel department at the annual NFL scouting combine in February, with Mayo previously calling it a «fantastic interview.»

«He brings a lot of energy. You can tell he has that leadership ability,» Mayo said in March, recalling the experience. «The exciting part about a guy