ORLANDO, Fla. — One month away from the draft, Patriots coach Jerod Mayo said Monday the team remains open to trading the No. 3 overall pick.
“I know everyone likes to think they have the special formula to picking players. But honestly, the guaranteed way to win is to accumulate more picks,” Mayo said at the NFL Annual Meetings. “So if we don’t feel convicted (about whom to draft) at No. 3, we are willing to do that, as well.”
Mayo opened up about the team’s thought process, confirming the Patriots have spent time with top quarterback prospects Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy. He also shared a personal belief that five prospects in this year’s draft could become starters, but declined to specify the fifth player after mentioning USC’s Caleb Williams, the presumed No. 1 overall pick. If they trade back, Mayo acknowledged the Patriots could regret passing on a quarterback and one of them develops into a star.
“I wish I had that crystal ball. You never really know,” Mayo said. “You’re going to find gems throughout the draft. Once again, as we continue to go through the process and look at these players, really, it’s about trying to find those gems later in the draft. Now, sitting at No. 3 is very unique because whatever happens at 1 and 2 — like, if you’re convicted on three or four quarterbacks, then I feel like we’re in a good position.”
Multiple members of the Patriots’ staff are comfortable Williams, Daniels or Maye sources told the Herald at the NFL Scouting Combine. If the Patriots do draft a quarterback, Mayo said he first wants to establish a consensus among scouts on the player. As of Monday, he revealed the staff is “close” to finding common ground on how its views the best available quarterbacks.
What Patriots HC Jerod Mayo has to say about QB draft prospects Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels
"What you guys have heard me say a lot, it's about collaboration. And one thing that (senior personnel executive) Alonzo Highsmith one of our scouts told me and I truly believe it -- he's been doing it for a long time -- he said all the bad picks that he's seen, it's really been where everyone wasn't on the same page," Mayo said. "And you would hope that you could get everyone on the same page, coaches and also scouts."
Over the next month, Mayo and Wolf will attend Pro Days at LSU and North Carolina to see Daniels and Maye, respectively. Mayo also expects both of them, and McCarthy, to visit Foxboro on three of the 30 in-person visits teams are allowed with prospects. In the meantime, the team will be dedicated to filling out a few final details on all three quarterbacks' scouting reports.
"The work is, ‘How does this guy learn? How does he deal with adversity?’" Mayo said. "Once again, you can go to the film and kind of gauge retention, like, what does he remember about this game here? And as they continue to talk and it continues to come together, that’s always the information that is added as we talk about them.”
If the Patriots aren't completely sold, however, Mayo said he is open to first building out the rest of the roster and indicated the team is inclined to move back to achieve that goal.
"If we take a quarterback at three, that means we are (convinced) that this player is really the future of this organization. ... Going back to your point that we said earlier, there are multiple pieces on this team that we want to fill," Mayo said. "So if you can gather more picks, that definitely helps you out. I can put more chips on the table.
"Probably shouldn't have did a gambling reference right there. But the more picks that you really have, the more likelihood you have to really hit on them."
