Drake Maye embracing challenge to compete for Patriots starting QB job

Drake Maye might very well be the Patriots’ franchise quarterback, but the first-round pick may not necessarily be the starter right away.

Head coach Jerod Mayo already said the best players will play, which means Maye will have to compete with veteran Jacoby Brissett, and to a lesser extent Bailey Zappe, for his spot on the team, but the UNC product is approaching everything as a learning experience.

“[Starting] is obviously the goal for myself and any quarterback in the NFL,” he told WEEI’s “Jones and Mego” on Monday. “But also getting in there and getting the opportunity to learn, learn from Jacoby, learn from older guys and put my best foot forward. For me, just earn respect for guys and get to know them first and all the stuff on the field will come after that. ... The best thing about being a 21-year-old coming in there is getting ready to learn and soak it all in.

“If I’m the best guy, and Coach Mayo has kinda said best guy is gonna play, if that’s me, I’ll be ready to go. If not, I’m going to prepare like it and compete and learn as much as I can from the other guys to do that.”

For now, Maye is working on building relationships with the wide receivers and acclimating himself to the Boston area, hinting at a potential appearance at either a Celtics or Bruins game.

“I’ve been a huge basketball fan but hockey is a great sport, growing on my list,” Maye said. “It would be great to get a chance to get to a Bruins game or the Celtics. … [Courtside] would be sweet. I hope I find a way, we’ll see. I like to consider myself an off-brand Jayson Tatum in my basketball game so to get to meet him and some of the guys would be pretty sweet.”