Pats select ILB Jerod Mayo with 10th overall pick

[State]

The Patriots have identified an impact player with the physical skills to start right away. Now offenses have to worry about a player who can get to a spot on the field much faster than the middle LBers who played for us last year.

I love Bruschi and Junior, but the need to upgrade the position was overwhelming.

We finally got the Jonathan Vilma player we've coveted for so long.

 

[Daisymazze]

:singing: I like it!

 

[psychoPat]

....
I love Bruschi and Junior, but the need to upgrade the position was overwhelming.

We finally got the Jonathan Vilma player we've coveted for so long.

Year after year i've been hoping for a high pick ILB ... knowing it wouldn't happen.
Now it's happened.
Whew !

Now we can spend the rest of the day watching for pigs that fly.

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

Year after year i've been hoping for a high pick ILB ... knowing it wouldn't happen.
Now it's happened.
Whew !

Now we can spend the rest of the day watching for pigs that fly.

the run defense should be pretty nasty

 

[unoriginal]

I doubt he starts right away, even Seymour didn't, but...

WE FOUND AN ILB WORTHY OF A DRAFT SLOT! HALLELUJAH!

 

[Seymour93]

I doubt he starts right away, even Seymour didn't, but...

WE FOUND AN ILB WORTHY OF A DRAFT SLOT! HALLELUJAH!

Seymour started the second game of his rookie season, against the Jets, IIRC. Apples and oranges though, because even though our LB's are old it's going to be a lot harder for Mayo to establish himself as a starter in his rookie season than it was for Seymour to do so back in 2001.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Hell yeah. Today's my birthday, and as far as birthday presents go this is a pretty damn good one.

 

[sebman2112]

Scouts Inc:

Strengths: Possesses an outstanding combination of size, speed and athleticism. Keeps head up and locates the ball quickly. Reaches top speed quickly, aggressive and makes plays in the backfield. Moves well laterally and generally does a nice job of scraping down the line of scrimmage. Has above-average range, plays with a good motor and makes plays in pursuit. Plays fast and really closes in on ball carriers in a hurry. While he lacks brute strength, he does display explosive short-area power and will strike ball carriers  even from nearly a standstill position. Plays with a mean streak. Gets good depth, shows good awareness of routes once he reads pass and covers a lot of ground when asked to drop into zone coverage. Displays fluid hips, changes directions well and shows good burst coming out of cuts when asked to match up in man coverage. Has adequate ball skills and flashes the ability to make plays in coverage. Plays with a good motor and has the potential to develop into a valuable special teams' contributor.

Weaknesses: Needs to improve his lower-body strength. He has jarring initial power but lacks the brute strength/wide base to anchor. Gets sucked up inside at times and is not a great phone booth player. At his best when he's protected. Doesn't use hands all that well and takes too long to shed blocks when offensive linemen are able to lock onto him. Doesn't always take sound pursuit angles and gets caught out of position at times. Will get caught lunging too much and still misses too many open-field tackles. Still has room to improve in terms of recognition skills in coverage. Gets turned around a little too much when asked to match up in man coverage and needs to improve footwork. Can be overaggressive, occasionally bites on play action and lacks the second gear when gets caught out of pursuit. Only effective as a pass rusher when he gets a clean lane to the QB. Gets caught up in traffic and really struggles to get off of blocks once reached. Missed five games with a knee injury in 2005 and durability is a concern.

NFL.com profile, provided by the Sports Xchange:

Analysis

Positives: Athletic build with good upper definition and the frame to add an additional 10 pounds without a significant loss of speed. ... Instinctive defender. ... Attacks the line against the run. ... Good change of direction and rare speed for the position in coverage. ... Good open-field tackler with the body control to break down in space and make the sure tackle. ... Flashes some explosiveness as a hitter. ... Good timing on the blitz and shows an ability to close when the ball is near.

Negatives: Physical, but might be better on the perimeter than the inside. ... Flashes strong hands to disengage from blocks, but often resorts to running around them rather than facing them up. ... Generally a wrap-up tackler, but will lower his shoulder to lay a big hit and sometimes slip off.

Overview

An athletic linebacker who made the move from outside to inside linebacker last season with spectacular results -- earning first team SEC accolades in leading the conference with 140 tackles. Mayo's speed and size may cause scouts to consider moving him back outside at the next level, but he seemed to gain more and more confidence at his new position as the season wore on, averaging 15 tackles over his final four games.

High School

PrepStar All-America ... Named All-State and first-team All-District ... As senior in 2003, recorded 110 tackles including 18 for loss and two interceptions ... Also played running back for seven games as senior, picking up 1,245 rushing yards and scoring 13 touchdowns and five two-point conversions ... Garnered first-team All-District, All-Area and All-Region honors as junior in 2002 while recording 68 tackles including 22 for loss, four interceptions and three sacks ... Three-year starter at both linebacker and running back.

 

[Wildo7]

Has he really had two knee surgeries? This is not something I like to hear.

 

[SeanBruschi54]

Has he really had two knee surgeries? This is not something I like to hear.

Belichick stated that the team doctors cleared him and he goes by what they say.

I dont think BB would take a shot in the dark if he was really unsure.

 

[BionicPatriot]

I wonder if he'll be able to contribute in his rookie year.. I'm not sold on a rookie ILB being a player his rookie year.

 

[Pedrorocks458]

I wonder if he'll be able to contribute in his rookie year.. I'm not sold on a rookie ILB being a player his rookie year.

Granted in less complicated systems, ILB seems to be a position where a first year impact can be expected. Willis won DROY last year and Ryans won it as a MLB the year before.

 

[Disco Volante]

AYO FOR MAYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

[SeanBruschi54]

AYO FOR MAYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Straight Gangsta

 

[Questfor31]

I wonder if he'll be able to contribute in his rookie year.. I'm not sold on a rookie ILB being a player his rookie year.

As a first round pick on a team that could use some youth at the linebacker spot, I would hope he can contribute right away, but I share your skepticism.

 

[IcyPatriot]

The Celtics game Comcast just showed a picture of some buzz cut white dude and said he was the Patriots pick ... Mayo.

Wait all year for the draft and they botch it.

 

[Lansdowne]

LMAO John Clayton is a ******, seriously

Says the Patriots are losers for drafting Mayo, but then says Mayo could be a Pro Bowler.

 

[BritPat]

LMAO John Clayton is a ******, seriously

Says the Patriots are losers for drafting Mayo, but then says Mayo could be a Pro Bowler.

What a cretin.

 

[GPR11788]

Hey any of you guy think that they were targeting Rivers by moving down to the 10th pick? I am only wondering since Mayo may have still been available a little bit later in the round.

Then again they probably had a hard time trading the pick, due to the cost.

 

[The 12th Man]

Hey any of you guy think that they were targeting Rivers by moving down to the 10th pick? I am only wondering since Mayo may have still been available a little bit later in the round.

Then again they probably had a hard time trading the pick, due to the cost.

I think if you read BB's statement on Mayo, he mentions that he was their highest rated LB. So I believe Mayo was the guy all along.