Drake Maye won’t be the Patriots’ starting quarterback for very long; it might take until the start of training camp, the conclusion of the preseason, or even until the offense runs out of steam in the first few games of the 2024 season.

The No. 3 overall pick in the April draft does not, however, mean that he has everything figured out now. Jerod Mayo told reporters as much following the Patriots’ rookie minicamp on Saturday. The move toward becoming the long-term quarterback solution is approaching and is imminent.

Mayo remarked, “He has a lot to work on.” “He needs to work on a number of things, but I know he’ll put in the effort. Although he wasn’t visible to you yesterday, he spent the entire night attempting to align with the group.
Maye, who attended North Carolina for his college career, will face off against Jacoby Brissett, who is back with the team that drafted him after playing for the Colts, Dolphins, Browns, and Commanders. Mayo, the head coach in his first season, was cautious not to give away any details about what New England may have planned.

Even yet, Maye’s progress is more important considering that Mac Jones, the Patriots’ previous first-round quarterback, struggled to the point that he was only able to obtain a sixth-round pick in a trade that was mostly intended to offer him a fresh start.

In his final two seasons with the Tar Heels, Maye passed for 7,929 yards and 62 touchdowns, but in an interview with “The Pat McAfee Show,” former New England head coach Bill Belichick exposed Maye’s poor footwork before the Patriots selected him.

Belichick, who left the Patriots in January after 24 seasons as head coach, said, “You can see here, he’s all over the place, never really sets his feet, never really gets into position to throw.” “He is fired without cause. An excessive amount of jumping around. Get up and launch yourself.

ESPN reports that the Patriots worked on footwork on Saturday, and Maye and sixth-round pick Joe Milton—a former Tennessee football player—shared quarterback reps.