What Jerod Mayo said about the Patriots’ plan for Drake Maye

Patriots

“We have a strong quarterback room in my opinion and they are going to compete and the best player is going to 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 quarterback last season.

They signed Jacoby Brissett, whose role should be a bridge between now and when Maye is ready.

The Patriots were tied for the lowest scoring offense in the NFL last season, and it’s unclear if they’re able to properly back up a rookie quarterback right away.

During a recent appearance on WEEI’s Greg Hill Show, Mayo admitted that he’s not yet sure if Maye is ready to be the NFL’s opening day starter. Some critics, including former Patriots coach Bill Belichick, say Maye has a lot to fix in his game before moving 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 as far as No. 1, 2 or 3. It doesn’t matter. None of these quarterbacks come here ready to play.

“Actually, I think coach said the only player he knows that was ready to play once he got into the league was Lawrence Taylor,” Mayo added. “So it’s very difficult to sit here and say this guy is going to play. What I will say is that he will compete. We have a solid quarterback room in my opinion and they will 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 areas where Maye needs to improve.

Mayo said he feels comfortable with each of the top three quarterbacks in the draft and looks 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 know much about him as far as his play at this level, but again, they’re going to compete.”

“Jacoby played a lot of football in this league, Zappe played football in this league, and Drake didn’t,” Mayo continued. “So he’s got to come in and not only show us that he’s capable of performing on the field, but also playing a leadership role with the young guys and hopefully the rest of the team going forward.”