Jerod Mayo gives rave review of Drake Maye: "No ceiling with a guy like that"

BOSTON -- When it comes to what the Patriots might do with the No. 3 overall pick in next month's draft, head coach Jerod Mayo does not want to tip his hand.

"We are open to trading the pick, we're open to taking the guy there," Mayo said Monday morning to reporters gathered in Orlando for the NFL's annual owners meetings.

Still, for a team that needs a long-term quarterback, the expectation from the outside remains that the team will use that high pick on a quarterback. It's just not known if the player available will be UNC's Drake Maye or LSU's Jayden Daniels, with the wild card of Michigan's J.J. McCarthy remaining an outside possibility.

Despite Mayo's intentions to keep everything close to the vest, he couldn't help but gush when asked about Maye.

"Look, Drake Maye had a fantastic interview at the combine," Mayo said. "He brings a lot of energy, you can tell he has that leadership ability. And also the exciting part about a guy like Drake Maye is the ceiling. Like, there really is no ceiling with a guy like that."

Mayo did note that Maye, a two-year starter, has plenty of room to grow, given his relative lack of playing experience.

"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 gotta see kind of how low is the floor?," Mayo said. "And I would say a guy like Drake Maye, he has a lot of room to grow. He's a young guy and 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 is definitely going to develop."

As for Daniels, Mayo said he talked with the Heisman winner via Zoom, but that he's looking forward to getting to know him better at the upcoming LSU pro day. Mayo also said that the presumed top three of Caleb Williams, Daniels and Maye has certainly grown to include McCarthy and also a fifth quarterback (perhaps Michael Penix Jr.).

"Oh look, when I first started watching these guys, it was that three-man race. And now, as you continue to go to these pro days and bringing guys in on the 30 visits and having time to spend with those guys to really get to know what makes them tick, I mean it's about five guys honestly that could come in and be a solid quarterback in the future," Mayo said.

Mayo said that offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt and quarterbacks coach T.C. McCartney can focus on things like mechanics at pro days, while Mayo is looking to evaluate in different ways.

"One thing you want from a quarterback, my number one thing, is a good decision-maker. Like that's first and foremost. And I would say one of the things that often gets lost is just competitiveness and toughness," Mayo said. "And so you see some of the top quarterbacks in the league, like those guys get smacked and get right back up. ... I think that is very important when you're kind of scouting this position. The competitor, like Tom [Brady], the toughness, like you see guys like Joe Burrow, he gets smacked and gets right back up. It's pretty impressive. But it also sends that subliminal message to the rest of the team, like, 'I'm here with you. I'm gonna get hit, and I'm gonna get back up, and we just gotta continue to go as we go forward.'"

Mayo got so fired up during that answer that he spilled his cup of orange juice, which he brought along to his session as an homage to Bill Belichick.

Earlier, Mayo was asked for his perspective on what went wrong with Mac Jones, so that the Patriots don't spend another first-round pick on a quarterback that doesn't work out.

"I would say it was a combination of things that really kind of hindered that growth in the second year," Mayo said of Jones. "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 that you put around this guy. And not only the coaches, but it could go all the way to the ops teams and things like that. To support a guy who plays the most important position in sports, and to ask him as a rookie to come in, it's always gonna be tough. And then you get to year two, you wanna see that jump. And then you get to year three, you would want to see success like this straight line. But realistically, that's not what it is. It's like a bunch of ups and downs. I think just supporting a quarterback is one of the biggest things. And I would also say this, you bring a guy like Jacoby [Brissett] in, look, he's definitely a starter in this league, and I would also say he's a good mentor to quarterbacks across the league."

Asked if the Patriots' staff is prepared to support a rookie quarterback, Mayo didn't hesitate.

"100 percent. I feel very good about the staff that we have. We have guys, T.C. and AVP and even [Ben] McAdoo, all guys that bring a certain skill set to the quarterback position," Mayo said. "Those guys have worked together in the past, and they're on the same page to support any quarterback that we bring in."

Despite the heavy quarterback focus of the questions, Mayo did state multiple times that the Patriots could decide to trade that pick, as accumulating more picks gives the Patriots a better chance of filling some critical holes. But if the Patriots do identify their guy at No. 3, they're ready to make the selection.

"If we take a quarterback at three," Mayo said, "that means we are convicted that this player is really the future of this organization."