Jerod Mayo shares if Bill Belichick would've traded Patriots' Drake Maye pick

Current New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo suggested that former coach Bill Belichick would've acquired additional assets for the third pick of the 2024 NFL Draft instead of spending that choice on North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Drake Maye.

"With Bill, we probably would have traded back to get more picks," Mayo acknowledged during a conversation with NFL Media's Cameron Wolfe. "Our path for so long has been accumulating more picks because it was our process. And we still believe in that. But we also believe when you're at a position at No. 3, you have to get it right and get a cornerstone player."

It was previously reported that Belichick's "mishandling of the Patriots' quarterback situation" following the departure of Tom Brady in March 2020 was one reason team owner Robert Kraft decided a change was needed. 

The Patriots missed the playoffs three times across four years without Brady, and 2021 first-round draft pick Mac Jones lost the New England starting job for good this past fall before he was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars in March. 

"Like Bill, I believe in draft-and-develop long-term," Mayo told Wolfe. "It's always good to have a quarterback on a rookie deal. At the same time, I don't want to get into the game of, 'I really like this guy, let me trade back three picks to pick something up.' No, just take him. If we feel like he's an impact player, then take him."

The Patriots did just that even though the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants both explored moving up to the draft's third pick with Maye in mind. Wolfe said in Tuesday's piece that "no one came close" to taking selection No. 3 off New England's hands before the club selected Maye on the final Thursday of April. 

"Our legacy will be defined by and tied to the player who we draft at (No.) 3," Mayo told Wolfe last week. "I know I asked the fans for patience. But they won't give me patience. I'm good with it. We're ready for the challenge."

In an "early 2025 NFL mock draft" posted on Tuesday, Dane Brugler of The Athletic predicted that the Patriots will "earn" the third overall pick for next year's player-selection process. New England admittedly is still in the early days of a post-Belichick rebuild, but Mayo's long-term future with the organization likely is already attached to Maye's.