Jerod Mayo: Drafting a QB is ‘the priority’ for Patriots, but all options are ‘still open’ with No. 3 pick
Mayo told NFL Media that the Patriots "have to really be in love" with whoever they draft with the third pick.
Jerod Mayo shared a clue on what the Patriots might do with the No. 3 overall pick.
The Patriots coach told NFL Media’s Steve Wyche that picking a quarterback is a point of focus for the team entering the draft, but they aren’t committing to taking one with the third pick just yet.
“It’s the priority right now,” Mayo said on Sunday. “But with that being said, you have to really be in love with the guy to take him at No. 3. So really all the options are still open for us.”
It’s been heavily speculated that New England will take a quarterback with the third pick since the season ended. Since then, that belief has become more solidified. They spoke with the top quarterback prospects at the combine, where reports emerged that they plan to take a quarterback with their top pick.
The Patriots continued to add to the idea that they would take a quarterback with the third overall pick in the first week of free agency. They traded Mac Jones to the Jaguars and signed Jacoby Brissett to a one-year deal, an indication that he could serve as a bridge starter for whoever the Patriots draft this year.
Mayo praised Brissett in his comments to Wyche, saying the team is comfortable with making him their starting quarterback if need be.
“A guy like Jacoby, he’s a great leader. Everyone loves him. To get him back in the building is definitely helpful for us. And honestly, look, he could absolutely be our starter this year,” Mayo said. “We’ll have to see. Like I said, we’re not dead set at taking a quarterback at No. 3, but we do feel good having a guy like Jacoby ready to go.”
The Patriots have continued to scout the top quarterback prospects since they signed Brissett. They’ve either been well represented or plan to send heavy contingents of their staff at the Pro Days of the top quarterback prospects. Chief decision maker Eliot Wolf was reportedly in attendance for Caleb Williams’s Pro Day at USC while Jerod Mayo joined the group for Michigan’s Pro Day on Friday, where J.J. McCarthy threw.
Wolf and Mayo are expected to attend Drake Maye’s and Jayden Daniels’s Pro Days this upcoming week, the Monday Morning Quarterback’s Albert Breer previously reported. Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt and quarterbacks coach T.C. McCartney were at or plan to be at the Pro Days for all four quarterbacks as well, according to Breer.
The vast majority of mock drafts have the top three quarterback prospects being selected with the top three picks, leaving the Patriots with either Maye or Daniels. As it’s highly expected that the Bears will draft Williams with the top pick, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said “it’d be fair to envision” that they’ll take a quarterback with the second overall pick.
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