The New England Patriots know this better than any other NFL team, but they drafted a great guy in former UNC star quarterback Drake Maye.

New England was in desperate need of a quarterback this offseason, with Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe failing to work out in a back-and-forth. Lucky for the Patriots, who finished a horrendous 4-13 last season, there were plenty of high-end quarterback talents in the 2024 NFL Draft.

New England decided to go for Maye, the 2022 ACC Rookie and Player of the Year. If football games were decided by quarterback play alone, North Carolina would be ACC Champions and – potentially – the College Football Playoff.

Maye threw for 8,018 yards and 63 touchdowns in his three years (two as a starter) as a Tar Heel. I bet Maye would’ve gone higher in the draft, but Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams were ahead of him.

On Friday, Maye and rookies reported to Patriots’ training camp:

It’s great to see Maye flashing that ear-to-ear smile so many Tar Heel fans became used to over the last two seasons.

Personally, I’m a huge Brissett fan myself. I’m all about letting proven NFL veterans start, especially if their competitor is a new, exciting rookie.

If Maye keeps performing like he did in Day One of training camp, though, it might be him starting over Brissett come September.

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Story originally appeared on Tarheels Wire