ORLANDO — A little homage to my retiring mentor, Peter King, after taking some time to digest a packed 30 minutes with Jerod Mayo this morning:
1. I think the Patriots very clearly, after the smoke cleared from Mayo's formal hiring and the putting together as a staff, made the decision that there's no quick fix to jumpstarting the franchise after Bill Belichick. Sure, they could spend a bunch of money on free agents to secure better odds at getting competitive for the playoffs in Year 1, but someone - and I'm guessing it was Eliot Wolf - made a concerted effort to point out how that could be fool's gold and not really get the team anywhere. The Patriots are rebuilding the foundation of House of Patriots, keeping the things that work, and getting new/young pieces to build up the rest.
It's not about next season. It's about Year 2 and Year 3.
2. I think Mayo came to this meeting with clear talking points on the third overall pick. He was basically told to make sure he keeps all options open, in the hopes that someone gets stupid and offers them a boatload for No. 3.
3. Do I think they definitely want to trade down? No, I don't. Remember, this is liar's season. It's all about options. I don't think they are close to a conviction on the quarterbacks and that won't happen for sometime until the all get back from the road and the pro day circuit.
4. I think my ears definitely perked up when Mayo talked about all the positives about Drake Maye and his high ceiling, and then he offered up this: "But you also got to kind of see how low is the floor? How low is the floor, and I would say a guy like Drake Maye, he has a lot of room to grow. He's a young guy. Honestly, he hasn't played football nearly as much as these other guys. So that's definitely something that we've looked at. But he definitely is going to develop."
Sounds like the Patriots, at least right now, see Maye similar to me: tantalizing prospect but a boom or bust factor.
5. I don't think Mayo was BS-ing when he said there are five or six quarterbacks that "could come in and be a solid quarterback in the future." I think the Patriots will zero in on a few QBs by the draft, and then manipulate the draft - if they don't just pick one at 3 - to get the guy they want. This is why it's good to have people like Wolf, Alonzo Highsmith and Patrick Stewart - who have been around the league and have deep contacts - to determine where they think the QBs will land. Of course, that is absolutely a gamble.
6. I think when I asked Mayo what he looks for in a QB when he goes to these pro days and hosts them on visits, and he offered up: 1. Decision-making, 2. Competitiveness, 3. Toughness. All I could think was J.J. McCarthy. I'm not saying I've heard that, just that's the player that jumped into my head along with Jayden Daniels.
7. I think I expect some more cash to be burned on extensions for Matthew Judon, Christian Barmore and Rhamondre Stevenson by the start of training camp, if not sooner.
8. I think, when it comes to trading for a No. 1 WR, the Patriots are inclined to look for better value after the draft. I don't think they will overpay before the draft just to satisfy everyone. No, I don't think this is a startling revelation. But, I put the odds of something like that happening at about 70 percent. I think a Pro Bowl-level vet plus a receiver or two in the draft will be the way they ultimately go.
9. I think my ears really perked up when Mayo said that Mike Ownenu could play left tackle. I mean, that's not the worst idea in the world. You know he'll be at least a solid left tackle, and you let Chuk Okorafor and a top rookie battle it out at right tackle and kind of go from there on the line.
10. Marte Mapu will begin the year at safety. And if he has the ability to play Star, which is a bigger slot cornerback, then he could get a look at free safety. His size/weight when we get to OTA practices will be something to watch.
11. I think I understand Mayo's point about delaying the offseason workouts until April 8 — they could start on April 1 with a new coach — but I don't like it at all. He said it's about him being on the same page with the coaches before they get to the players. But the defensive coaches are all back. We're talking about the offensive coaches. And Mayo should let Alex Van Pelt and Ben McAdoo to do their thing, and get with the players as soon as possible. I don't like just blowing off a week. This offense needs all the time they can get.
12. I didn't mind Mayo's final response about patience:
"For Patriot fans, look, I understand the frustration. I understand the expectation that has been really built over the last 20 years. But at the same time, hopefully the fans understand that we're trying to build this the right way. And we're trying to bring in pieces that we think are for the long term. I think there's a combination between bringing people in for the short term, but also you have to think long term, that's always the hard thing to do. I would just ask Patriots fans for patience. Once again, there will be players that hit the wire, free agents, guys that are explosive, whatever you want to say, there will be guys in the draft, there will be guys after the draft. So just sit back and kind of, you know, let us do our job going forward."
I don't think it was a shot at Belichick. He obviously did build this the right way, but there's also no question that things went off the rails at some point with personnel and derailed the franchise. The Patriots are going to do a lot of things Belichick did to jumpstart the dynasty, they're just doing a hard reset to go back to that.