It has finally arrived, Draft Week. That means Lying Season is just about over.

You know, how NFL general managers, coaches, owners, etc. start to leak out fake information to select media members, trying to throw off the scent.

The way we hope the New England Patriots are doing with some of the info they’ve let out on interest in J.J. McCarthy, dinner with Michael Penix. You have 30 allowed visits, people, it’s smart to use them up.

Local quarterbacks guru Trevor Knight did a great job in evaluating the six top QBs that will go in the first round and likely the second. It he boiled it down pretty simply. So let’s give it to you straight: The Krafts want a franchise quarterback. The Patriots are picking third. They are not trading down, because this is their best shot. If they do, we’d be stunned.

It’s either Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye. We’re telling you this: Root for the Commanders to take Daniels. Sure, he’s explosive, but he looks like he’d be snapped in two by NFL linebackers once they get ahold of him.

You want Drake Maye.

Sure, Maye may need some work, some fine tuning. But he is a superior athlete. He can make the plays, natural instincts. Heck, don’t let us tell you , just read the words of Trevor Knight.

Mac Jones became a Patriot because they needed a quarterback and, picking at No. 15, he was there. It was a marriage of convenience. He had some limitations his rookie season, we all thought he’d take the next steps and for all sorts of reasons that didn’t happen and may never will.

It’s a new Patriots regime, and everything is under the sometime ridiculous microscope. Everyone is screaming about how the team didn’t spend money in free agency. Why not? Robert Kraft has been on the record saying that the Great Spending Spree of 2021 did not yield the results he thought it would. In the short term it helped the team return to the playoffs, and it also provided two, maybe three key players in pass rusher Matthew Judon, tight end Hunter Henry, and perhaps receiver Kendrick Bourne, in that order. As for this year in free agency, let’s tell you that the best left tackle out there was Tyron Smith out of Dallas. He’s 33 years old. If you’re a player or two away from a deep playoff run like the Jets may be – only if Aaron Rodgers is healthy – you sign him. If you’re the New England Patriots, trying to rebuild with youth, speed, etc., you don’t. Receiver Calvin Ridley? The Patriots made a competitive offer, we feel from the reports. The player signed with Tennessee, a sign he indeed, as Kraft hinted, wanted to stay south.

NFL free agency is a way to supplement your roster. It’s not like free agency in other sports. NFL players are too fragile, and free agents also often don’t produce once they get that deal/signing bonus, probably because they know eventually they’ll be a cap casualty.

There’s a lot that can happen between now and later this week, perhaps even after this prose was written. Teams are trying to climb that ladder and try to entice the Patriots to move off the pick, get a bunch of other picks, fill some holes along with drafting a Michael Penix or a J.J. McCarthy. Penix is certainly NFL ready, McCarthy just doesn’t move the needle. Despite the recent buzz.

This is no time to get cute and overthink things. The Patriots will have a high second rounder and will get another good player (receiver?) there as well. Kraft, as he has said, is all about the draft. And he’s all about getting the best quarterback the Patriots possibly can at No. 3.

That’s why if you’re a New England Patriots fan, you should be hoping that Thursday, April 25 is Maye Day.

Tom King can be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on twitter @Telegraph _TomK.