FOXBOROUGH – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo knows all about being the new guy, but he reiterated on Tuesday the importance of experience.
That’s the main reason he’ll start his first camp as a head coach since replacing Bill Belichick with a veteran as the starting quarterback.
“Coming out of spring I think it’s clear Jacoby [Brissett] looks like the starting quarterback at this point in time,” Mayo said Tuesday of the depth chart at quarterback. “With that being said, there’s going to be competition. All of those guys will have opportunities.”
No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye will get “as much work as he can” with the first team.
Mayo said if Maye comes out and “lights it up,” he could emerge as the starting quarterback.
The Patriots are starting from scratch at quarterback under Mayo, who is a first-time head coach and part of the monumental shift away from the Belichick-led regime that ruled the AFC East for most of the past two decades.
Maye was the first draft pick in years not influenced or directly chosen by Belichick, with Eliot Wolf promoted to executive vice president of player personnel. Wolf said after rookie minicamp that any decision on the starting QB job likely would be a collaborative effort. He also pointed to Brissett being the starter “right now.”
“He’s taking the first reps, and we’re excited about what he’s shown not only off the field but on the field with his throwing ability. Drake Maye, let’s be honest, we’ve had him for three weeks now,” Wolf said at the time. “There’s a long way to go to for all of our rookies and all of our players as we adapt to this new scheme that coach (Alex) Van Pelt is implementing offensively.”