Change in style?
Patriots say selection of LB doesn't signal a change in team-building approach
NFL. For the last several years at the NFL Draft, there were certain constants: The Lions would select a wide receiver in the first round. The Jets’ fans would angrily boo whoever their team selected. And when faced with an option to draft an impact linebacker, the Patriots would look elsewhere.
So much for constants: Saturday, the Lions picked an offensive lineman in the first round, Boston College’s Gosder Cherilus. Jets fans seemed relatively happy with the selection of Ohio State defensive end Vernon Gholston. And with their first pick in the 2008 NFL Draft Saturday, New England chose linebacker Jerod Mayo out of Tennessee.
For the Patriots, it marked the first time they drafted a linebacker higher than the fifth round since head coach Bill Belichick and de facto GM Scott Pioli took over the franchise in 2000. Belichick assured the media Saturday that the selection of the 6-foot-2, 230-pound Mayo doesn’t represent an overall change in their team-building process. It was just a happy coincidence.
“It just worked out that way,” said Belichick, who has traditionally turned to veteran free agents like Mike Vrabel, Rosevelt Colvin, Junior Seau, Bryan Cox and Adalius Thomas to fortify the linebacker spot instead of restocking via the draft. “It’s not a grand plan to take them or not take them. We evaluate all the players, grade them and then when you pick, you take a look at the players that are available and do what’s best for the football team.
“It worked out that way this year — it could have worked out differently in other years. That’s the way it fell, and whenever we pick, we do what we feel is best for the team, and sometimes, those options, we don’t control them.”
The only other two linebackers the franchise has drafted in the Top 10 were Willie McGinest of Southern California, picked fourth in 1994, and Chris Singleton of Arizona, chosen eighth in 1990.
While the selection of Mayo doesn’t seem to click with some aspects of their overall team-building approach, there is another part of the selection that appears to be right in line with the Patriots overall blueprint for success: They were able to trade down three spots to get Mayo at No. 10, and, if history is any indication, that could mean a real savings when it comes to negotiating a contract. According to multiple reports, last year’s No. 7 pick, running back Adrian Peterson, signed a deal with the Vikings that was for a guaranteed $17 million after options. The No. 10 pick, defensive tackle Amobi Okoye, inked a contract with the Texans worth $12.8 million guaranteed.
In a conference call with the media Saturday, Mayo came across as a confident and excited 22-year-old. While most other Top 10 picks were in New York for the draft, he confessed to spending the day picking up leaves in the backyard of his Virginia home with his mother. And he spent some time playfully joshing with reporters, asking them what sort of headline ideas they had in store for him.
“’Hold the Mayo’ is always going to be the No. 1 thing, but that’s kind of getting played out now,” Mayo said with a laugh. “I’m trying to see what you guys are going to throw at me now that I’m coming there.”
Mayo’s versatility may ultimately be the reason the Patriots thought so highly of him. He played inside and outside linebacker at Tennessee, and could do either in the Patriots 3-4 scheme. However, he likely projects as an inside linebacker in New England’s defensive alignment.
“He’s a pretty versatile player — he did a lot of different things at Tennessee,” Belichick said of Mayo, who he led the Southeastern Conference with 140 tackles, the most in a single season by a Tennessee player since 1990. “He played inside, he played outside. He played in their sub defense, he played in the kicking game. He’s a smart kid, runs well, [and he’s a] pretty physical player.
Mayo, who grew up a Redskins fan, made 11 pre-draft visits to different franchises, including Buffalo, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Atlanta, St. Louis, Dallas and the New York Jets. But was most impressed by the sense of professionalism he found in Foxborough.
“There wasn’t an atmosphere that you felt the winning tradition like you did when you walked into the building with the Patriots,” he said. “I felt the vibe from the coaches and just from everybody.”
