After already being well-represented at Jayden Daniels’ throwing session on Wednesday, the Patriots are also visiting Maye and company.

On Wednesday, we wrote about the New England Patriots sending their A team of coaches and executives to LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels’ pro day in Baton Rouge. On Thursday, that team has arrived at another campus: the Patriots’ contingent made the trip to Chapel Hill to watch North Carolina’s pro day.

The main draw, of course, is QB Drake Maye. A projected first-round draft pick and realistic candidate to be selected third overall by the Patriots, Maye will hold a throwing session and also meet with New England’s representatives before the workout.

That group is looking a lot like the one New England sent to watch Daniels at LSU. Head coach Jerod Mayo and director of scouting Eliot Wolf are leading the charge, according to a report by Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, with other high-level members of the organization also present.

Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, quarterbacks coach T.C. McCartney, and senior offensive assistant Ben McAdoo, all made the trip as well. In addition, director of player personnel Matt Groh, senior personnel advisor Patrick Stewart, senior personnel executive Alonzo Highsmith, and national scout Matt Evans are also present.

The only changes compared to Wednesday are the addition of Evans, as well as the absence of college scouting director Camren Williams and personnel coordinator Brian Smith. Williams has traveled to the University of Washington to represent the team at the Huskies’ own pro day.

New England continuing to take a close look at Maye after already interviewing him at the Scouting Combine is no surprise. As noted above, the quarterback-needy team could very well end up drafting the 21-year-old next month, and it is not hard to see why.

Starting 26 combined games for the Tar Heels during his sophomore and junior campaigns, Maye completed 611 of 942 pass attempts (64.9%) for 7,929 yards with 62 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. In addition, he gained 1,147 rushing yards on 296 carries and found the end zone 16 times.

His numbers, while impressive, do not tell the full story when it comes to Maye. The 6-foot-4, 223-pound passer also is as intriguing a prospect as there is in this year’s draft due to his franchise-caliber combination of size, arm talent, baseline athleticism, and developmental upside. While there are questions about his comparatively lackluster 2023 season, his potential is undeniable and something the Patriots do have a vested interest in.

“Drake Maye had a fantastic interview at the Combine. He brings a lot of energy. You can tell he has that leadership ability,” said head coach Jerod Mayo about him earlier this week. “Also the exciting part about a guy like Drake Maye, there is really no ceiling with a guy like that. In saying that, when we’re trying to put together this roster, I know a lot of people look at the ceiling. But you also have to look at how low is the floor.

“I would say a guy like Drake Maye — he has a lot of room to grow. He’s a young guy. Honestly, he hasn’t played football nearly as much as these other guys. So that’s definitely something we’ve looked at, but he’s definitely going to develop.”

Despite sitting behind the equally QB-needy Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders, the Patriots are in a prime position to draft one of the top quarterback prospects in this year’s class. Whether it will end up being Maye, Daniels, or even Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy remains to be seen.

They are doing their homework on all of the available options, though. Their trip to Chapel Hill is just the latest piece of the puzzle.

Russini: What rest of NFL is saying about No. 3 pick

The Patriots have a coveted first-round draft pick with several teams desperate for a QB.

Next month, the New England Patriots will have their most important draft in recent memory.

Their No. 3 overall pick is their highest selection since they took Drew Blesdoe first overall in 1993. While they’re widely expected to use the pick on one of the top quarterbacks, they could choose to trade down to acquire more assets in hopes of expediting their rebuild.

If they opt for the latter, the No. 3 overall selection will be in high demand. A number of teams across the league are desperate for QB help, so New England could capitalize and get a haul in exchange for the pick if they aren’t sold on the QBs on the board.

Everything appears to be on the table for the post-Bill Belichick regime, but how does the rest of the NFL views the No. 3 pick? Dianna Russini of The Athletic joined the latest episode of Tom E. Curran’s Patriots Talk Podcast to share her insight.

“It’s becoming a reality that four quarterbacks could potentially go with those top four picks,” Russini said. “So with that three pick, the New England Patriots — open for business — obviously are going to look at all the different options that they have and take those phone calls to listen. Is there a team willing to give up a big haul in order to move up? And if that would be a good investment for the Patriots to say, ‘You know what? Maybe we collect more picks and continue to build’?

“There’s a team down in Texas, the Houston Texans, who had that plan years ago where they started to build. They didn’t just get good last year. This wasn’t like they drafted C.J. Stroud and became stars. The building started two, three years ago, which is why they’re in the position that they’re in now. So maybe this is an option. I’m not saying this is what they do, but I’m sure in the building this is something they’re discussing of, ‘If we get the right price, should we do?’

Russini also shared how teams across the league view the new-look Patriots entering the 2024 season.

“I think the mindset around the league right now or how they’re viewing New England Patriots is really just a gigantic rebuild. Trying to find just the simplicity of their identity,” she said. “What are they? Who are they going to be? Is this going to be a Bill Belichick Jr. team? Is this going to be an extension of that, or is this actually really going to be a fresh new approach to how they do it? Whether that means on the field, off the field, all of it. ..

“It’s just going to take time. So if there’s one word I could leave everyone with right now — it’s really hard, it’s very hard — patience.”