Devin McCourty Shares Insight Into Patriots’ Belief In Drake Maye

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo made it clear New England's starting quarterback position is Jacoby Brissett's to lose.

Patriots legend Devin McCourty discussed the Patriots quarterback situation on "The Rich Eisen Show" on Tuesday.

"It was to be expected for me. I spent some time up there (in New England) in the spring, visiting a little bit, and I think the organization just feels like Jacoby's the guy they brought in for a reason," McCourty told Eisen. "They signed him, and they expected him to go out there and play, and I think they feel like they just have a guy that can play right now, but they have a great mentor and leader in the locker room."

McCourty continued: "I think they want Drake Maye to come in and not feel that pressure ... just to learn from Jacoby. ... Jacoby played under (Tom) Brady and learned from him, so it's cool to see those roles where he can now play the mentor. I expect Drake Maye to come in and just learn, and as that process really starts to come intact for him, he can develop. Maybe there's a time they put him in and go with him, but I think going into this season, they feel like Jacoby's the guy that can get them moving in a direction they want to move overall as an organization."

Even though the Patriots intend to bring Maye along slowly, McCourty said the organization believes that the 21-year-old rookie is their future.

"I think what's interesting right now is there's this big, intense love for him right now," McCourty said. "Not just from the front office and the people in the building, but from the players. I think that is something over the last few years since (Tom) Brady left has been a little bit of a roller coaster.

"I think Drake Maye now comes in to fill the future void that they had there. A guy that everybody can believe in, a guy that the organization can say, 'Hey, this is our guy, he's gonna lead us, he's gonna be the frontrunner, he's gonna be in front of everybody.' And I think the biggest part of that is that the guys in the locker room truly believe in that. I think the future is bright, and New Englanders should be happy, but I think they have to be patient for all of this to come to fruition."