After weeks of speculation, it's official: the New England Patriots have selected quarterback Drake Maye with the third overall pick in the NFL Draft.

Maye, who played college football for the University of North Carolina, joins a new-look Patriots team under rookie head coach Jerod Mayo. The franchise moved on from longtime coach Bill Belichick in January.

In his final season as a Tar Heel, Maye was electric, throwing for 3,608 yards and 24 touchdowns. He also ran for 449 yards and 9 touchdowns. The year before, he threw for 4,321 yards and 38 touchdowns.

Speaking to reporters after his selection, Maye was elated about coming up to New England and he pushed back on some observations claiming the Patriots would be a difficult landing spot for a rookie quarterback.

“I think they’re wrong,” he said. “That defense last year held a lot of teams to low points. And [I’m] looking forward to helping any way … offensively. And just looking forward to being there with Coach Mayo in his first year — congrats to him — and I think anybody who’s saying that, hopefully we’ll find out come this season.”

Last year, the Patriots offense generated the third fewest total yards in the league on the way to a 4-13 record. They also tied for the fewest points. The defense, however, was credited for keeping games within reach.

Patriots’ director of scouting Eliot Wolf said the franchise needs to support Maye anyway they can, on and off the field.

“We need to add some weapons to the offense, we need to shore up the offensive line,” he said. “We have some good players already at those positions, but really just increasing the depth and the competition. Like [Mayo] mentioned, that competition’s gonna be at every position.”

Although there will surely be a lot of expectations on the newest member of the Patriots to contribute quickly, there’s no guarantee he’ll be the team’s starting QB. Currently, the Patriots have three quarterbacks on the roster, including Bailey Zappe and veteran Jacoby Brissett. Nathan Rourke, who signed with New England in December, is also currently on the team.

Mayo made clear to reporters after the selection that Maye wasn’t automatically coming in as the starter.

“I think he understands that. He understands the things that he has to get better at,” Mayo said. “With coaching and, once again, the hard work and the coaches that we have, the support system from ownership, I think he has a chance to go out there to really play at a high level. You can talk about potential all you want to. Until you reach it, it really doesn’t matter. But we do know the man, we know the man is a hard worker and he’s gonna do everything he can to be successful.”

That’s something Maye was comfortable with.

“I think my first thing is just help any way I can contribute. You know I’m preparing [to] be ready to be the starter, but at the same time, you know as a young guy coming in there, it’s not given to you, you’ve gotta earn it,” Maye said. “The NFL is someplace you gotta work your butt off and my job is to go in there and earn the guys’ respect and help whoever is the starter. If I’m not, I’ll be the best player [I] can and help this team win.”

This year's third overall pick was New England's highest since the 1994 draft, when the Pats selected Willie McGinest with the fourth pick. In taking Maye, New England disproved rumors that they might swap picks with another franchise and move down.

Maye's selection followed that of University of Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams, who the Chicago Bears chose with the first overall pick, and Louisiana State quarterback Jayden Daniels, who the Washington Commanders took with the second pick. Williams won college football's top honor, the Heisman Trophy, in 2022. Daniels won it in 2023.