The next stop in Behren Morton’s career is New England, and the quarterback of the Texas Tech football team will need no introduction to the Patriots’ QB.
The Patriots took Morton with a seventh-round pick shortly before the NFL draft concluded on Saturday, April 25. Morton will gladly take a chair in the same meeting room with two-time Pro Bowl QB Drake Maye and renew acquaintances. Both were part of the 2021 recruiting class. Among quarterbacks, Maye ranked No. 9 nationally and Morton No. 19 in the 247Sports composite index of top prospects.
They were part of the Elite 11 national quarterbacks showcase.
“I got to know him there,” Morton said. “He’s a great dude. He’s a young guy that I can learn from. He obviously had a tremendous season last year, so getting to learn from him this year, and then also [Patriots backup QB] Tommy DeVito, this is going to be a great opportunity for me.”
Maye, who left North Carolina after his sophomore season, threw for 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns last season, leading New England to the Super Bowl.
Morton says he knows his place.
“I think he’s a great guy,” Morton said. “I think he’s a guy that everyone attracts to in the locker room. I’m really looking forward to pick his brain about what he’s done in the league so far. He’s been very successful this last year, and so I’m going to do whatever it takes throughout the week of game planning, prep, whatever he needs. If he needs a coffee from Starbucks, I’m there for Drake.”
New England took Morton with pick No. 234, midway through the seventh round. He waited it out with a contingent of family, friends and Tech offensive coordinators present (Mack Leftwich) and recent past (Zach Kittley) in Eastland, the Mortons’ hometown.
Morton had some intel that made the wait less stressful, intel sound enough that he wore a Patriots cap on a teleconference with media shortly after his selection.
“It was an awesome day,” he said. “Had an idea that I was going today. One of my agents recommended me getting a New England hat, and so it kind of worked out. But this is for sure a really cool moment for me and my family.”
The Patriots recently released No. 3 quarterback Josh Dobbs, so Morton begins third on the depth chart.
In five seasons with the Red Raiders, Morton threw for 8,989 yards and 71 touchdowns — both fourth in Tech history — with 28 interceptions. He’s only the second Tech quarterback drafted in the past 21 years, Patrick Mahomes in 2017 being the other.
“In my time at Texas Tech I’ve been banged up with a broken leg and a bum shoulder,” Morton said. “People have counted me out, and so this is kind of an opportunity for me to prove people wrong and so to get this opportunity by the Patriots, I’m going to take full advantage of it for sure.”
In an interview after Tech’s on-campus pro day, Morton said he’d met with personnel from all 32 NFL teams, including about 15 formal interviews.
He had a pre-draft visit to New England. That included what he called “a good long talk” with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who rejoined the team in 2025 after previous stints from 2001-08 and 2012-21. Tom Brady was selected to 10 Pro Bowls during 11 seasons in which McDaniels was his position coach.
“He was very complimentary about my game,” Morton said. “We watched a lot of film to see where I could fit in this offense. He’s obviously had a lot of success in this offense, and so we talked a little bit about the offense. I think this fits my game really good, and so I’m excited about this opportunity.”
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Patriots take Behren Morton in NFL draft, renewing a QB connection
Reporting by Don Williams, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
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