FOXBORO — The pick is in, and the Patriots have chosen UNC quarterback Drake Maye with the third pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

After months of speculation that the Patriots could trade down from No. 3 overall, de facto general manager Eliot Wolf, head coach Jerod Mayo and the rest of the team’s top decision-makers stood pat to select a quarterback with the hope that he’ll be the future of the franchise.

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Maye, 21, has prototypical size (6-foot-4, 221 pounds) and arm strength for the position. He also comes with plus-athleticism and was adept at tucking the ball and running to pick up first downs in critical situations. He was a two-year starter and a captain with the Tar Heels. His best season as a passer came in 2022, when he completed 66.2% of his passes for 4,321 yards with 38 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also added 153 carries for 899 yards with seven touchdowns rushing.

In 2023, when Maye’s supporting cast wasn’t as strong, he completed 63.3% of his passes for 3,608 yards with 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He carried the ball 92 times for 582 yards with nine touchdowns.

Maye has a tendency to make some reckless throws, and he could benefit from sitting at the start of his career. One scout at the combine described him as a developmental prospect.

Another scout told the Herald that “there’s a lot to work with” in Maye, who has “a lot of natural talent to tap into.” He’s “big, strong and mobile” has a “powerful arm” and “natural feel in the pocket.” As far as negatives go, Maye’s “mechanics aren’t good,” he “needs refinement” and his “accuracy is hit or miss.”

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Maye impressed Patriots coaches and front-office executives with his poise during an official interview at the NFL Scouting Combine. Maye also visited Gillette Stadium during the pre-draft process and met with team personnel at his pro day.

Mayo spoke of Maye’s upside last month at the NFL Annual Meeting.

“Drake Maye had a fantastic interview at the combine. He brings a lot of energy,” Mayo said. “You can tell he has that leadership ability. And also the exciting part about a guy like Drake Maye is the ceiling. Like, there is really no ceiling with a guy like that. Now, 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 got to kind of see how low is the floor. How low is the floor? And I would say that 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 that we’ve looked at, but he definitely is going to develop.”

The Patriots signed veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett this offseason with the idea that he could serve as a bridge starter.

“We signed Jacoby because he’s a good player,” Wolf said last week. “He’s big, strong, a relentless preparer in terms of his ability to take a game plan and apply it through the week to Sunday. He’s got a big arm. … We feel like if we end up drafting a quarterback high, he is someone who can support that player and would be a positive influence on them while competing with them.”

Maye joins Brissett, Bailey Zappe and Nathan Rourke on the Patriots’ quarterback depth chart. The team traded former starter Mac Jones, a 2021 first-round pick, to the Jaguars earlier this offseason. Jones was supposed to be the team’s future franchise quarterback after an impressive rookie season. He got progressively worse over his final two seasons in New England, bottoming out and getting benched for Zappe late in the 2023 season.

Team owner Robert Kraft said at the NFL annual meeting that Wolf’s position as de facto general manager will be evaluated after the draft. Kraft said in the same meeting with the media that he hoped to come out of the draft with a “a top-rate young quarterback.”

Drafting Maye with the third pick should please Kraft.