Drake Maye landed in arguably the worst situation of any quarterback selected in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The third overall pick already is on his second head coach and his second offensive coordinator while running a second offensive system in two seasons. If you reflect back to Maye’s tenure at North Carolina, he’s now had four offensive coordinators the last four years.
The coaching turnover is one of the reasons why you can’t compare the Patriots second-year signal-caller to any others drafted in his class, including Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy. But it’s certainly not the only factor that benefits McCarthy, who was drafted 10th overall.
“Too often people try to divorce the quarterbacks from the situation that they’re in,” Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer said on Early Edition on Tuesday night. “You can’t do that.”
He added: “So much of what they walk into winds up having an incredible impact on what they wind up producing.”
In fact, McCarthy landed in arguably the best situation of any of the six QBs (Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Maye, Michael Penix, McCarthy, Bo Nix) drafted in 2024.
The pieces around him are a major reason why the Michigan product was able to lead the Vikings to a win in his NFL debut against the Bears on Monday night. Maye didn’t fare the same.
Kevin O’Connell, fresh off a Coach of the Year honor in 2024, is one of the brightest offensive minds in the game. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better wide receiver room than McCarthy’s in Minnesota, which features reigning First Team All-Pro Justin Jefferson, 2023 first-round pick Jordan Addison and surehanded veteran Adam Thielen. The running back tandem of Aaron Jones Sr. and Jordan Mason is good if not great. All while the offensive line which includes, from left to right, 2021 first-rounder Christian Darrisaw, 2025 first-rounder Donovan Jackson, four-time Pro Bowler Ryan Kelly, offseason signee Will Fries and two-time Pro Bowler Brian O’Neill, might represent the biggest advantage of all.
“I just think when you look at the totality of J.J. McCarthy’s situation,” Breer said, “… it’s not the same thing.”
Patriots insider Phil Perry agreed with Breer.
“I just would look at it and say, ‘You got to wait.’ Wait a little bit, wait until you get a full season and let’s just see how it looks,” Perry said on Early Edition.
Perry acknowledged because of their respective situations there’s a strong chance McCarthy performs better than Maye this season, despite Maye having the advantage in NFL experience. McCarthy was sidelined for his entire rookie season after he tore his ACL.
Nevertheless, Perry isn’t willing to say the Patriots got it wrong. He doesn’t anticipate saying it anytime soon, either.
“As somebody who believes that Drake Maye is still the player that I would rather have if I’m an NFL franchise, I also believe that J.J. McCarthy could very well have, clearly, a better 2025 NFL season,” Perry said. “Because of the situation that he’s in.
“It is clearly, far and away, a better quarterbacking situation in Minnesota compared to what Drake Maye is dealing with.”
