What it will take for top 2024 draft picks to deliver on the hype
Drake Maye, QB, New England Patriots
Accolades needed: 4x Pro Bowl, 3 playoff wins
Maye is a really interesting prospect. He had a dominant sophomore season and there were plenty of fans and pundits who believed he would challenge Caleb Williams for the No. 1 pick in the draft. His junior season, with a much worse supporting cast, was uneven and saw him ultimately slide to the third pick, behind Williams and Jayden Daniels.
There are still plenty of draft analysts who believed in Maye though. Our own Dustin Mosher had Maye atop his big board. Daniel Jeremiah, Jordan Reid, Trevor Sikkema and Connor Rogers ranked him above Daniels. Expectations are still very high as the Patriots continue in their quest to replace Tom Brady.
So where does that leave Maye when it comes to delivering on the hype? I decided to draw from another former No. 3 draft pick at quarterback. Matt Ryan landed with the Falcons in 2008, going third overall, although not behind two other quarterbacks. The Long brother went off the board before Ryan.
Ryan found immediate success in Atlanta, going 11-5 in his rookie season and reaching the playoffs. He would go on to reach four Pro Bowls in 14 seasons with the Falcons, posting a winning record in his career. He peaked with an MVP season and a Super Bowl appearance in 2016.
There is a lot of this that will not translate for Maye. Instead of joining a team that is ready to win with a good offensive line and some reliable skill position players in Michael Turner and Roddy White. Maye instead joins a Patriots offense bereft of talent with a rookie head coach who used to play linebacker for the team.
Maye's early seasons will not be much to judge him by. Until New England can put a better supporting cast around him, it will be hard to assess him properly. That being said, he cannot hide behind that excuse forever. Ryan had a really good career, highlighted by that 2016 season, and I think Maye could win up in a similar boat when all is said and done.
It's a tall task. Four Pro Bowls is impressive over the course of a career. On top of that, Ryan retired seventh on the all-time passing list. That list gets rewritten every year now considering how much the league throws the ball, but impressive nonetheless. If Maye can be a good quarterback for the next decade and reach the Pro Bowl roughly half the time, I think New England will feel good about that.
I also added an important note about winning playoff games. Reaching the playoffs is one thing. Winning in the playoffs is another. The Patriots reached the postseason with Mac Jones under center. However, when the playoffs rolled around, Jones was the team's Achilles heel and they lost. This is a franchise that got very used to postseason success under Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. Finding that again will be nearly impossible, but ensuring that they don't wind up like the Dolphins, who have won a single playoff game since Dan Marino retired, is crucial.