Jacoby Brissett Reveals He Didn't Want to Be Drafted by Patriots in 2016

When the New England Patriots selected Jacoby Brissett in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft, the quarterback wasn't initially celebrating the opportunity to play for the organization. 

Appearing on the Double Coverage podcast with Devin and Jason McCourty (h/t Howie Kussoy of the New York Post), Brissett explained his predraft visit with the Patriots went so badly that he didn't want to play for the team:

"I'll never forget, [offensive coordinator] Josh (McDaniels) called me on the phone on draft night and I didn't have his number saved. That's how bad it was. I didn't even have his number saved in my phone. I was like, 'Damn, man.'

"I honestly did not want to be there. When I took my visit there—my pre-draft visit—I was like, 'Hell no. If one team drafts me, it better not be them.'"

Brissett noted it didn't take him long to realize his initial perception of things wasn't indicative of the Patriots' environment:

"And one of the main things that I learned was just how to be a pro. How to be able to—we would laugh in the locker room and decompress when we weren't doing football stuff, but when we were in football, everybody thinks it's like the military. We were locked and loaded. And there was no game where we felt like, 'Damn, this team might beat us.' Jason you know coming into that from a different team, you're just like, 'Damn, the confidence here is crazy.'"

New England's decision to select Brissett despite that rough predraft meeting paid off for both parties. He had to start two games as a rookie because of Tom Brady's Deflategate suspension and Jimmy Garoppolo's Week 2 shoulder injury. 

Brissett helped the Patriots to a 27-0 win in his first career start against the Houston Texans on Sept. 22, 2016. He was traded to the Indianapolis Colts one year later to provide insurance at quarterback, with Andrew Luck out because of a shoulder injury. 

The Colts have used Brissett as their starter for 30 games over the past three seasons. He has thrown for 6,042 yards, 31 touchdowns and 13 interceptions since the start of 2017.