Jerod Mayo Seems To Want A Quarterback With The Third Pick

By  Steve Atkinson

It’s a breath of fresh air listening to Jerod Mayo talk to the media. It’s very different from what we are used to with Belichick who would grunt, mumble, and say nothing to the media. Mayo, however is total opposite he is more open to the media and isn’t afraid to say what’s on his mind.  The culture is the most important with this new Patriots regime. There is no more hard ass vibe like Eliot Wolf mentioned at the scouting combine. It’s more relaxed and Jerod Mayo is coming across as a players coach.  Jacoby Brissett fits the culture of what the Patriots are trying to do unlike Zappe who will probably be cut by August.

Jerod Mayo Talking About Drake Maye

Jerod was asked about the meeting with Drake May at the scouting combine.

“Drake Maye had a fantastic interview at the combine. He brings a lot of energy. You can tell he has that leadership ability,” Mayo said. “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,” Mayo said. “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.”

Eliot Wolf and Mayo want a quarterback that can sit for year to develop him the right way. Not play him for a season then derail him the next two seasons. They want to prove to Belichick on how to develop a quarterback the right way and by sitting Maye for a season will help. Here is Jerod taking a shot at Belichick (sorry Zappe people) about how Belichick handled Mac the last two seasons.

“Mac Jones came in and had a lot of success early on,” Mayo said. “We always talk about that jump from year one to year two and and how significant that year is or that bridge is from year one to year two. I would say it was a combination of things that really hindered that growth in the second year.

“One thing I did learn about that process was as you continue to develop a quarterback, it’s not only the players you put around him but also the coaches you put around this guy,” Mayo added. “Not only the coaches, but it can go all the way to the ops teams and things like that to support a guy who plays the most important position in sports.”

Mayo and Wolf want to establish that culture of supporting the quarterback. If the Patriots did this before drafting Mac Jones in 2021 Mac would probably still be the quarterback for the Patriots. Jerod Mayo wouldn’t have put defensive and special teams coaches to coach the offense in 2022. Mayo would’ve gotten a offensive coach in 2021 that wasn’t going to leave the following season for a head coaching job. Like now, Alex Van Pelt isn’t going anywhere. He will be the offensive coordinator here for awhile. Van Pelt isn’t getting head coaching looks like a Bill O’Brien or Josh McDaniels.

The Patriots selecting a quarterback and probably Drake Maye with the third overall pick a month from now. They aren’t trading down, taking a receiver, or taking J.J. McCarthy because he isn’t that good to go that high. I think Maye is the new franchise quarterback for the Patriots.