Throughout the 2024 offseason, it was clear the New England Patriots were going to use the third-overall selection in the upcoming NFL Draft on a quarterback. After the failed experiment with Mac Jones, whom the team picked in the first round in 2021, it was time to find the next franchise quarterback after Tom Brady, and they were fortunate to have a list of options in their grasp.
It had long been known that USC's Caleb Williams would be first off the board, leaving just the Commanders ahead of the Patriots in the quarterback sweepstakes. That meant they had a few choices to consider, including LSU's Jayden Daniels, UNC's Drake Maye, Michigan's JJ McCarthy, and Oregon's Bo Nix; all of whom were on their radar.
Most analysts and fans had their eyes on Daniels or Maye, but rumors leading up to draft night suggested GM Eliot Wolf and Co. were interested in McCarthy, much to the dismay of Patriots fans. It prompted plenty of concern about the franchise's future, but inevitably, they wound up with Maye available to pick.
There was an initial mixed reaction, as Maye was the youngest quarterback in the class with not much experience under his belt. But given how things have gone with McCarthy and the Vikings, it's looking like fans need to be thankful Wolf turned his back on making that move.
Eliot Wolf allegedly backing down from his interest in JJ McCarthy might have saved the Patriots' future
Leading up to any draft, there will always be rumors swirling about teams' interest in specific players, much of which won't be legitimate. It's typically put out there to throw other teams off and maybe pique their interest in a different player, so that might be all the alleged McCarthy interest from the Patriots was last year.
However, because he was coming off a championship season with Michigan and coached by Jim Harbaugh, there is a good chance the intrigue was legitimate, and the Patriots could very easily be in a much different spot at this point in the season.
McCarthy missed all of his rookie season due to an injury suffered in the summer, and that setback appears to have been far more costly to his development than anyone could have predicted.
He was named the starter for the Vikings this year, but has been incredibly disappointing in his six starts so far. In fact, there is already a conversation about him being benched or Minnesota looking at other quarterback options for the long-term, even if that might feel premature.
Given where the Patriots are heading into Week 13 against the Giants, it's hard not to consider what their future could have looked like had McCarthy been under center instead of Maye. If the apparent interest from Wolf was real, or even if Bill Belichick had been calling the shots, who made it clear he was not impressed with Maye, the Patriots could be looking for a quarterback in 2026, just like the Vikings might be.
That gives us all the more reason to be thankful for Wolf's decision, although many fans don't find much of what he's done to be applaudible. But given how good Maye already is, that's certainly something to commend him for.