What Jerod Mayo said about how Drake Maye fits into the Patriots’ QB competition
"We have a solid quarterback room in my opinion and they're going to compete and the best player will play"
Now that Drake Maye is officially a Patriot, there are questions about whether or not New England should play him next year.
The Patriots clearly had a need at the quarterback position last season.
They’ve signed Jacoby Brissett, whose role is expected to be a bridge between now and when Maye is ready.
The Patriots tied for the lowest-scoring offense in the NFL last season, and it’s unclear whether they are in a position to properly support a rookie quarterback right away.
During a recent appearance on WEEI’s Greg Hill Show, Mayo acknowledged that he’s not quite sure yet whether Maye is ready to be a Day 1 starter in the NFL. Some critics, including former Patriots coach Bill Belichick say that Maye has plenty of things to iron out in his game before stepping into a permanent starting role.
“My thing with Drake is we understand the player on and off the field,” Mayo said. “We understand that none of these guys are perfect, I mean you could go all the way up to No. 1, 2, or 3. It doesn’t matter. None of these quarterbacks are coming in here ready to play.”
“I actually think coach said that, the only player that he knows that was ready to play once they came into the league was Lawrence Taylor,” Mayo added. “So, it’s very hard to sit here and say this guy is going to play. What I will say is he’s going to compete. We have a solid quarterback room in my opinion and they’re going to compete and the best player will play.”
According to Belichick, who analyzed the pick on the Pat McAfee Show last week, footwork, reading defenses, and consistency are some areas where Maye needs improvement.
Mayo said he felt comfortable with each of the top-3 quarterbacks in the draft and that he’s looking forward to seeing Maye compete now that he’s with New England.
“Every individual is different,” Mayo said. “We’ll see when he comes in. Right now we don’t really know much about him as far as playing at this level, but once again they’re going to compete.”
“Jacoby has played a lot of football in this league, Zappe’s played football in this league, and Drake hasn’t,” Mayo continued. “So, he has to come in and not only show us that he’s capable of performing on the field but also really taking a leadership role with the young guys and hopefully the rest of the team going forward.”
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