Patriots 7-Round Mock Draft 1.0: Building an Offense From Scratch

At this point, the end of the NFL regular season was probably a relief for most New England Patriots fans. All the talk and drama and speculation starts to mean something. We'll learn the fate of Bill Belichick. We'll learn the future of the quarterback position.

We can finally start moving forward and looking to the future.

That starts, first and foremost, with the 2024 NFL Draft. Owning their own picks for each of the first six rounds, the Patriots' 4-13 record ensures they'll be picking near the top of almost every round of the draft.

So let's waste no more time diving into who the Patriots will be drafting:

Patriots 7-Round 2024 NFL Mock Draft Predictions

Round 1 (No. 3 Overall): Drake Maye, Quarterback, North Carolina

I still haven't decided whether I believe the Chicago Bears will take Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick or not, but if they're not taking Williams then I think that means they're trading down.

Of course, if they trade down there are two things that are nearly certain: whoever trades up is taking Williams, and it won't be the Patriots trading up.

Even if we're moving into a post-Belichick era, I don't see the Patriots mortgaging their future for Williams when there are a couple other elite talents they'll have available.

So then that leaves us with Drake Maye — a pretty dang good consolation prize.

Pro Football Focus has given Maye overall grades of 91.5 and 90.6 over the last two seasons, joining Caleb Williams as the only two passers to achieve that mark.

And as a passer Maye actually graded out ahead of Williams in both seasons.

I know Pats fans probably don't want to hear the "pro-ready" trope after what happened with Mac Jones, but Maye has that rare blend of looking pro-ready and like he has a massive ceiling.

The Pats absolutely must roll the dice with a QB with this pick, and Maye is the guy.