Patriots' Jerod Mayo speaks honestly about having 'successful' first season

Most, if not all, NFL analysts expect the New England Patriots will lose more than they will win with first-year head coach Jerod Mayo serving as the replacement for living legend Bill Belichick.

Without directly saying so, Mayo acknowledged the reality of his situation while speaking with reporters on Tuesday.

"A successful season, in my eyes, is really about the foundation," Mayo said about the 2024 Patriots, as shared by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. "Have we put together a good foundation of a combination of young and older players to really start competing? It would be great to get up here and say we’re going to win a Super Bowl, but once again, it’s about the process. I tell the guys all the time, it’s about process and progress and moving forward."

The Patriots missed the playoffs three times across four seasons and finished the 2023 campaign at 4-13 before owner Robert Kraft began the franchise's next era by showing Belichick the door in January.

New England was never one offseason away from completing a needed roster rebuild before the club made quarterback Drake Maye the third overall pick of this year's draft. It's possible that Maye could spend most or all of his first pro season learning about life in the NFL as the primary backup for veteran Jacoby Brissett.

As of Tuesday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Patriots at +165 betting odds to win over 5.5 games and as +900 underdogs to make the playoffs this season.

If New England is essentially out of the postseason race around Thanksgiving Day, fans and maybe even Kraft understandably will want to see what Maye is and/or isn't at that point of his development.

"It looks like a winning football team," Mayo added about the "foundation" he referenced. "It looks like a tough, smart, dependable football team."

Karen Guregian of MassLive suggested on Tuesday that Kraft could give Mayo up to "three years" to build a foundation after Belichick guided the franchise to six Super Bowl titles from February 2002 through February 2019.

With that said, history shows Kraft could experience a change of heart if Maye doesn't look like a franchise quarterback by the end of his second season.