The Patriots started their draft with Drake Maye and then proceeded to get him three passing options in the remaining seven rounds, as well as a backup. Let’s take a look at the five rookies the Patriots took in the 2024 NFL Draft.
FULL 2024 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS DRAFT RESULTS
| Round | Pick | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 3 | Drake Maye | QB | UNC |
| 2 | 37 | Ja’Lynn Polk | WR | Washington |
| 3 | 68 | Caedan Wallace | OT | Penn St |
| 4 | 103 | Layden Robinson | OG | Texas A&M |
| 4 | 110 | Javon Baker | WR | UCF |
| 6 | 180 | Marcellas Dial | CB | South Carolina |
| 6 | 193 | Joe Milton III | QB | Tennessee |
| 7 | 231 | Jaheim Bell | TE | FSU |
Round 1, Pick 3: Drake Maye, Quarterback, UNC (6’4” 223 lbs)
[Note: The following is an excerpt from our Round One Instant Reaction piece.]
Talent:
It’s not often that you see an NFL player’s carbon copy, warts, and all when you watch a prospect. But, at 2 inches and 6 pounds lighter, and the same uniform number, Drake Maye feels like you’re watching Justin Herbert out there. Maye is also a decently mobile quarterback, who uses long strides rather than fast strides to make his way upfield. Maye has incredible pocket mobility, though he tends to wait a little too long to make decisions. But, when he releases the ball, he really lets it fly. He has some great zip on shorter throws, and good accuracy/precision on said throws. On intermediate throws, he feathers the ball exceptionally well, and he had more “wow” throws than Caleb Williams did. That includes a dime touchdown against South Carolina where he’s getting double-sacked and falling, for a touchdown.
But, there’s a bad side. He struggles seeing rotating defenders underneath, and his anticipation doesn’t make much room for adjustments. Sometimes he trusts his arm a little too much, and he’s an above-average improviser, but he occasionally has some incredibly out-of-control misses. He has a higher floor than Caleb Williams, but a lower ceiling. He still deserves to be the second quarterback in this class, and he might be closer to Caleb than some want to believe.
NFL Comparison: Justin Herbert
2024 Opportunity:
It took three picks for me to hate a landing spot for a rookie in 2024 fantasy football leagues. I dread this setup for Maye. I loathe this landing spot for Maye. This is the worst-case scenario for a guy who doesn’t make his fantasy points on the ground. While I love Maye as a prospect, we’ve already seen a team fail to set up a talented quarterback like him for success with… Justin Herbert. I fear that the questionable weaponry in New England will leave us looking into 2025 with a highlight reel of receivers giving up on balls, dropping passes, or getting blown up by failing to get open.
There’s also the issue that much like Herbert, the Patriots have a Jacoby Brissett who could potentially act as a bridge until they are ready to hand over the keys to Maye. I expect that to be Halloween at worst, but that still deflates his draft-day stock.
2024 Fantasy Football Outlook:
Drake Maye has a great chance to be a decent second quarterback in 2QB leagues, but the weapons around him (Kendrick Bourne, Ja’Lynn Polk, Javon Baker, K.J. Osborn, Jalen Reagor, and Pop Douglas) make me extremely worried that he will fail to gain any sort of traction in 2024. I would let someone else draft him in August, and see if you can scoop and stash him in late September if you feel like you want to wait and see if he can develop.
TALENT:
2024 OPPORTUNITY:
2024 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK:
Round 2, Pick 37 Overall: Ja’Lynn Polk, Wide Receiver, Washington (6’1” 203 lbs)
Talent:
The Huskies loved to use Polk on a variety of gadget plays, letting him use his (very good) athleticism to make things work, with the formation scheming him open on a lot of plays. He doesn’t contain a diverse array of moves nor does he possess particularly refined route-running chops, but he’s a strong pass catcher who could be a quarterback’s best friend versus zone coverage. He has a little too much build-up in his routes, but if a team sees his skills as a short-area possession receiver, he could develop some limited PPR value. None of that matters, however, as his best trait is his blocking. He loves to block, and he’s good at it, too. I don’t feel good about him as a fantasy player… but I’d love to have him on my roster.
NFL Comparison: Jakobi Meyers
2024 Opportunity:
The Patriots had one of the worst sets of weapons in the NFL last year, which means that Polk will get his fair shot to contribute for the Patriots this season. Unfortunately, there’s a lot against him: a rookie quarterback (who may not start week one), a lot of similarly talented players making it difficult to stand out, and an offense that had a lot going wrong with it in 2023. That having been said, all of that means that he could climb to the top of the wide receiver room if given a chance to produce. Unfortunately, I don’t know if that chance comes. The Patriots already have guys who fit Polk’s profile in Pop Douglas.
2024 Fantasy Football Outlook:
We keep trying to find some fantasy viability in the Patriots’ passing game. But, Polk is the closest that they’ve had to Jakobi Meyers since he left. Still, it’s a low-ceiling offense making Polk a PPR depth play at best. Even then, with everyone on the team being of such a similar skill set, it’s hard to see someone poking their head above the rest and becoming a reliable fantasy option.
TALENT:
2024 OPPORTUNITY:
2024 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK:
Round 4, Pick 110 Overall: Javon Baker, Wide Receiver, UCF (6’1” 202 lbs)
Talent:
Baker looked the part of an NFL-quality wide receiver at UCF, thanks to his size, speed, and nice hands catching ability. He did a good job of varying his speeds and leverage to keep defenders guessing, which was good because if he just sprinted off the line, he wouldn’t run past anyone. Baker also worked well in the scramble drill when called upon, something that should help him stay on the field in the NFL. He struggled with focus drops and physical defenders, but that can be schemed away. All-in-all, he will be a good WR3 for a while on a team, and depending on where he ends up, he could be a good WR2.
2024 Opportunity:
There’s nothing different between his opportunity and Polk’s. It’s just a matter of figuring out who is going to lead the way in New England, and maybe it will be Baker. Maybe it will be Pop Douglas? Or JuJu? Probably not JuJu. But, it’s a lot of similar players, so picking one above the rest isn’t something that you can do with any sort of confidence.
2024 Fantasy Football Outlook:
The same as Polk. At this point, we just don’t know, and getting the “right” player is likely to have low-ceiling, short-term gains. I don’t want any part of this passing game.
TALENT:
2024 OPPORTUNITY:
2024 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK:
Round 6, Pick 193 Overall: Joe Milton III, Quarterback, Tennessee (6’5” 235 lbs)
Talent:
Milton is on the older side, as his career at Tennessee includes an entire Hendon Hooker career in the middle, and Hooker is entering his second season in the NFL. Milton has great size, and a big arm to go with it. He often gets credited with overthrows in draft profiles, but the receivers he’s throwing to do things like “slow down for no reason” which leads to the overthrows. There are also receivers getting turned around, dropping balls, and getting lost in the lights. That is to say, he’s better than his numbers at Tennessee will tell you. Unfortunately, however, his deep ball accuracy still leaves a lot to be desired.
Milton has nice zip and accuracy on his intermediate throws, and he has an innate ability to put the ball where only his receiver will get it. That is, his precision is as good as his accuracy, leading to great catches and good amounts of YAC.
Unfortunately, Milton is extremely raw, as he goes through his reads (more on that in a second) but his decision-making isn’t always the best, trying to overtrust his arm and making bad throws. While Milton is good at throwing on the run and has good pocket presence to shake off defenders, he isn’t a great runner. While athletic, his lack of creativity causes him to leave yards on the field.
Draft profiles will tell you that Milton doesn’t go through progressions, but in reality, Tennessee’s offense wasn’t built around doing that. There are several plays where he completes an RPO, plus three other reads on the same play, notably against Vanderbilt. That’s more reads on that play than Spencer Rattler has made in his entire 70-year college career.
NFL Comparison: Faster Geno Smith
2024 Opportunity:
He’s the QB3 on a team with Drake Maye and Jacoby Brissett. A lot would have to go wrong for the Patriots for him to see the field.
2024 Fantasy Football Outlook:
I doubt that he plays, but if he does, he’s likely to be eerily similar to Patriots’ Cam Newton.
TALENT:
2024 OPPORTUNITY:
2024 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK:
Round 7, Pick 231 Overall: Jaheim Bell, Tight End, FSU (6’2” 241 lbs)
Talent:
Bell is more likely to be a fullback than a tight end in the NFL, and FSU used him in that hybrid role, mostly because he’s a small guy. Because he’s a small guy, he isn’t reliable as an inline tight end, but he does well enough as a lead blocker, though he needs a lot more reps before he can do that reliably. He is fast, but not agile, before the catch. At the catch point, he is good enough to make the catches, but he won’t hit any highlight reels with the balls he plucks away from defenders. After the catch, he’s good enough to do fun things with the ball. He feels like he’s going to need a lot of seasoning and some more time in the oven before he becomes something in the NFL.
NFL Comparison: Delanie Walker
2024 Opportunity:
The Patriots have a lot of players who aren’t great, and I love Jaheim Bell from a talent perspective. But, it’s unlikely that they find him a role that gets him any sort of consistent production opportunities in his freshman season in the NFL. I can’t find a way forward where he beats the rookie tight end curse.
2024 Fantasy Football Outlook:
Skip him.
