Just a year after the draft class arrived for a new beginning at the New England Patriots, the 2024 class has all but vanished, leaving their franchise quarterback, Drake Maye, the lone bright spot after his 287-yard, one-touchdown performance against the Raiders as the sole beacon of hope on a landscape of startling attrition.

It’s a stark reality that echoes the sentiment of Doug Kyed: “Outside of Drake Maye, the Patriots’ 2024 draft class has been an outright disaster.” The evidence is a brutal ledger of what-ifs and missed opportunities. Take the case of wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk. A second-round pick (37th overall) is supposed to be a pillar, a player you build around.

Instead, after a rookie season that produced a meager 12 catches for 87 yards and a preseason shoulder injury that landed him on IR, the Patriots shipped him to New Orleans. The return? A 2027 sixth-round pick, with the Patriots even throwing in a 2028 seventh-rounder to get the deal done.

The Patriots made several moves with recent draft picks who failed to develop. Fourth-round offensive lineman Layden Robinson was waived despite starting 11 games as a rookie, after posting a dismal 41.9 Pro Football Focus grade in pass protection, making him incompatible with the team’s needs.

Third-round pick Caedan Wallace (68th overall, 2024) has been relegated to backup guard duty, while fourth-round receiver Javon Baker was released after catching just one of four targets all season. Baker quickly landed on Philadelphia’s practice squad, but his college potential couldn’t translate to professional production. The moves reflect the Patriots’ inability to carry developmental projects amid their current roster construction.

The depth picks fared no better: Sixth-round DB Marcellas Dial, who had carved out a valuable role on special teams and was competing for slot corner duties, suffered a torn ACL, ending his season before it began. For a late-round pick fighting for a roster spot, an injury like that is often a career-ending sentence with the original team. He also played 60 defensive snaps and finished with 12 tackles before his injury. And seventh-round TE Jaheim Bell, always a long-shot developmental project, was waived after contributing just two catches for 20 yards, a predictable but final nail in the class’s coffin.

This stunning reversal of fortune wasn’t the plan. Back in the August sun, the atmosphere was brimming with promise. The narrative was one of a vibrant rookie community ready to contribute. As one rookie put it, “I feel like we’re doing everything they’re asking us to do… taking advantage of our opportunities,” said receiver Kyle Williams, catching touchdowns from Maye and bonding with his classmates.

All eyes on Maye

The coaching staff spoke of “promise with patience,” believing they had rebuilt crucial positions. For a moment, it felt like a foundation was being laid. But the NFL is a brutal teacher, and patience is a luxury rarely afforded. The promise faded, the patience ran out, and the opportunities dried up.

The arrival of head coach Mike Vrabel signaled a purge of anything that didn’t align with a no-nonsense, entitlement-free ethos. The trade of Joe Milton III. As one insider noted, it was about removing a player who “felt that the disparity wasn’t that great” between himself and Maye. The Patriots dealt quarterback Joe Milton III to Dallas in April 2025, receiving a fifth-round draft pick in return. The Patriots also included their own seventh-round selection in the package to complete the transaction with the Cowboys.

Vrabel’s mission is to build something new and resilient, and that meant clearing out anything perceived as a distraction or a relic of a losing mindset. This extends to performance. Robinson’s PFF grades a 41.9 in pass protection were simply untenable for a regime demanding excellence. Polk’s injury and lack of production made him expendable. In this new Foxborough, you either produce or you’re gone. There’s no room for sentimentality.

So here we are. The statue of Tom Brady now stands outside Gillette (as we reminisce about his rivalry with the Colts), a permanent reminder of a standard that feels galaxies away. The 2024 draft class, save for one crucial exception, is a footnote. The lone survivor is Maye, the man tasked with bridging that galactic divide.

He’s already earning respect around the league, with Josh Allen himself calling him an “unbelievable guy” who “can spin the heck out of the ball.” He is the entirety of the return on a massive investment, the one thread from which an entire new tapestry must be woven. The story of the 2024 draft is no longer about a class; it’s about the classmate who made it. Everything now rests on his arm, his leadership, his ability to be, as Allen said, “that guy.” For the Patriots’ sake, he has to be.