Drake Maye already had a jersey number in mind shortly after being selected by the New England Patriots in the 2024 NFL Draft — and it certainly won’t be Tom Brady’s number. The new Patriots quarterback said that he’ll be wearing No. 10 in the NFL.
“As long as it ain’t 12, [having] to fill those shoes,” Maye said, cracking a joke as he spoke with reporters during his introductory press conference on Friday.
Maye has worn No. 10 for much of his football career. He wore it during his high school days in North Carolina and during his college tenure with the Tar Heels.
In fact, Maye recently told Fox Sports’ “The Carton Show” that he was willing to pay a premium in order to get his preferred jersey number, setting a $100,000 limit to wear the No. 10 by whichever team drafted him.
Luckily for Maye, he won’t have to worry about paying that price for the number. Mac Jones was the last player to occupy that jersey number, which obviously became vacant after he was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Maye will be the third Patriots quarterback over the last decade to wear No. 10 as well, joint Jimmy Garoppolo. The jersey number really doesn’t have much history in New England as Jones and Garoppolo are the most prominent players to wear the jersey number. Other notable players to wear No. 10 with the Patriots were Josh Gordon and Jabar Gaffney.
What Drake Maye said of following Tom Brady’s legacy with Patriots
In his first two meetings with the media since being drafted by the Patriots, Maye has made it clear that he’s his own person and doesn’t want to replicate one of his predecessors.
“Tom Brady’s the G.O.A.T. It’s easy to say that,” Maye told reporters Thursday night. “He’s the best that ever played this game. I’m not going to be Tom Brady. So, I’m just going to try to be Drake Maye, and from there, I’m just trying to learn from him, hopefully get to know him a little bit. Other than that, just try to soak it up, be a sponge and try to learn all I can from him. He’s the man of that town.”
Beyond the jersey number, Maye is definitely a different kind of quarterback than Brady was during his legendary career. Other than being a 6-foot-4 right-handed passer, there aren’t too many similarities. Maye is more built above the waist, willing to run, and athletic compared to Brady.
Those traits allowed Maye to be one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in college, running for over 1,100 yards the last two seasons.
Those traits, along with a strong arm, should allow Maye to find success in the tough Foxborough weather. Now, we get to find out whether he can do it.
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