Patriots legend shares how Jerod Mayo is already mimicking Bill Belichick

During an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," New England Patriots legend and Super Bowl LIII Most Valuable Player Julian Edelman compared first-year New England head coach Jerod Mayo to legend Bill Belichick regarding how Mayo is handling rookie quarterback Drake Maye this spring. 

"I’m excited for Jerod," Edelman explained, according to Tim Crowley of NESN. "I just saw what he said about Drake Maye. ...You can see he’s already started to use that Belichick tone when he addressed the media about Drake Maye that he has a lot to work on. You can see that he’s using that."

Mayo offered his "a lot to work on" comment about Maye this past weekend, and it was later revealed that the third pick of the 2024 NFL Draft spent portions of the team's rookie minicamp altering his footwork. Maye also reportedly "took a considerable amount of snaps under center" and "worked on his footwork while dropping back."

As for Mayo, it shouldn't surprise outsiders that he'll sound somewhat like Belichick from time to time. Mayo played under the six-time Super Bowl champion head coach from 2008 through the 2015 season and first joined Belichick's coaching staff in 2019. 

Meanwhile, Edelman featured for New England from 2009 through the 2020 campaign and is therefore quite familiar with both Mayo and Belichick. 

"He was one of the smartest football players I played with," Edelman added about Mayo. "...He was always great in the locker room. He’s a great leader. He could communicate with everyone. I think he’s going to bring something different than what Bill had. The way he communicates is going to be different. He’s probably going to be more like a leader or a captain coming down and talking to a young buck." 

The Patriots missed the playoffs across three of the past four seasons, finished the 2023 campaign at 4-13 and lack talent at multiple positions on offense. As of late Wednesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Patriots' over/under win total for the 2024 campaign at just 4.5.

Mayo has repeatedly said this spring that he will start the best player for the team between Maye and veteran Jacoby Brissett. Edelman acknowledged during the show segment that it will be "insane to watch" the first year of what is a new era for the Patriots as an outsider regardless of who is named the club's QB1 for Week 1.