The Patriots picked their quarterback of the future when they selected Drake Maye early in the first round on Thursday night.
Their quarterback of the present is less clear, however. Jacoby Brissett is on hand after signing with the team in March and head coach Jerod Mayo cited his predecessor Bill Belichick in response to a question about whether Maye was ready to play right off the bat.
“I think to go back to Bill, I don’t think many rookies are ready to just jump in and play,” Mayo said. “At the end of the day, our philosophy is the best players will play. Coming in as a rookie, hopefully he’s a sponge. A lot of good players in that locker room. Look, Jacoby understands, he’s a mentor. He’s very smart, has great leadership skills, and hopefully Drake can learn something from him, as well. I would say we’re going to compete all spring, we’re going to compete during training camp, and the best player will start.”
Mayo said Maye “understands the things that he has to get better at” as he transitions to the professional ranks and the speed that he shows that improvement will have a lot to do with when he takes over as No. 1 in New England.
