What Eliot Wolf, Jerod Mayo said about new Patriots QB Drake Maye
Thursday night was a big one for Patriots de facto general manager Eliot Wolf and head coach Jerod Mayo, who were running New England’s first NFL Draft of the post-Bill Belichick era.
Their first pick, No. 3 overall, was the Patriots’ highest since the franchise took Drew Bledsoe first overall in 1993. Needless to say, the pressure was on to get it right.
Wolf and Mayo are hoping they did just that when they selected quarterback Drake Maye out of the University of North Carolina.
After the pick, Wolf and Mayo met with the media and explained what stood out to them about Maye and why they decided he was their guy.
“We had a good process with all these quarterbacks and all these players in the draft, and we really started to feel comfortable with Drake,” Wolf said. “Obviously the game film was really good, but we started to feel comfortable with him as we spent more time with him and visited with him in North Carolina.”
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported that the Patriots got “big-time trade offers” for the No. 3 pick, including last-minute pushes from the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings, but ultimately decided to stay put.
Wolf didn’t confirm the specifics of any trade talks, but acknowledged that there was interest from other teams in trying to move up to three.
“We had some conversations with other teams, but ultimately we felt like Drake was the player that we wanted, and we had the opportunity to get him,” Wolf said.
Mayo cited Maye’s pro day down in North Carolina as a key part of the process of getting to know the 21-year-old quarterback. Talking to UNC head coach Mack Brown proved especially helpful.
“First and foremost, I would say just getting a chance to spend time with Mack Brown and asking him questions about Drake really helped me get the full picture,” Mayo said. “Look, this guy is very competitive. He would literally miss one question and he'll be on himself about it. But we like that competitive nature, that striving for perfection, and he showed us that.”
Wolf highlighted Maye’s ability to elevate his teammates around him, something he had to do on a UNC team that didn’t have the kind of talent at other positions that some of the top programs in college football do.
“Not to take anything away from anyone else in the program, but the game was on his shoulders for them,” Wolf said. “I mean, they have some talented players, talented running backs and receivers, but he really was able to elevate them and make them into what they could be.”
One of the main criticisms of Maye, and one that Belichick himself highlighted on Pat McAfee’s Draft Spectacular, is his sometimes erratic footwork. Wolf was asked about that, and acknowledged there are areas where the Patriots' coaching staff is going to need to work with Maye to improve.
“Meeting with Coach [Alex] Van Pelt, Coach [Ben] McAdoo, Coach [T.C.] McCartney, and just kind of talking through some of the things, some of the development he needed, some of the things that they thought they could tighten up or fix in some cases,” Wolf said. “And at the end of the day, we felt comfortable with those things and really betting on the talent and the kid. Like Drake's a relentless worker from all the indications that we have, and he's going to be able to overcome some of the things in the areas that he needs to improve.”
