Jerod Mayo says Patriots were comfortable with all three of top picks in NFL Draft

BOSTON -- Sitting at No. 3 overall behind two quarterback-needy teams, the New England Patriots didn't really have the benefit of first choice when their time came to make their pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. But that's something they were comfortable with.

According to Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo, who spoke to the media alongside director of scouting Eliot Wolf shortly after the team drafted Drake Maye out of UNC, the team would have been OK ending up with any of the top three quarterbacks of Maye, Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams.

"Honestly, the more exposures we had with Drake, the more comfortable we felt. And honestly not to talk about other players, those top three guys, we were comfortable with all three of those guys. It just happened to be Drake," Mayo said. "And he definitely has a lot of potential, and we have a lot of coaches, and we have to develop him."

That being said, neither Wolf nor Mayo was surprised at the way the top of the draft played out, as they both stated that they knew weeks ago that the Commanders would be going with Daniels at No. 2.

Back in March, Mayo spoke about Maye and referenced his high ceiling while also questioning how low the quarterback's floor might be at the NFL level. Mayo was asked on Thursday night if the potential of that floor being low scared the team.

"I wouldn't say it scared us. Everyone was focused on the ceiling," Mayo said. "And obviously, Drake has a high ceiling, but the floor is like if everything goes wrong -- which we don't anticipate to happen -- what does that look like? We were very comfortable as we continued to go through the process. We watched years of this guy playing football, and we feel good about the pick."

As for whether the 21-year-old Maye is ready to step in and start right away, Mayo said the quarterback who proves to be the best through the spring and summer will start in Week 1. That puts Maye in a competition with veteran Jacoby Brissett for the job, with Bailey Zappe and Nathan Rourke also in the QB room.

"We're not sitting here saying Drake is our starting quarterback. I think he understands that," Mayo said. "He understands the things that he has to get better at with coaching and once again the hard work and the coaches that we have, the support system from ownership. He has a chance to go out there and really play at a high level. You can talk about potential all you want to, but until you reach it, it really doesn't matter. But we do know the man is a hard worker and he's going to do everything he can to be successful."

Maye had a strong 2022 season but his production dipped in 2023. Scouts and evaluators also questioned some of Maye's footwork, with the general consensus being that he has quite a bit of development ahead of him before he can be a good starter in the NFL. Wolf recognized some of those areas but reiterated the team's belief in Maye.

"Meeting with Coach [Alex] Van Pelt, Coach [Ben] McAdoo, Coach [T.C.] McCartney and just kind of talking through some of the things, some of the development he needed, some of the things that they thought they could tighten up or fix in some cases. And at the end of the day, we felt comfortable with those things," Wolf said. "And really betting on the talent and the kid. Like, Drake's a relentless worker from all the indications that we have, and he's going to be able to overcome some of the things in areas that he needs to improve."