Jerod Mayo Takes Shot At Bill Belichick Following NFL Draft
By Cem Yolbulan
It is a new era in New England and the Patriots are changing the way they do things in various aspects. For over two decades, Bill Belichick was in charge of everything in the organization, dictating the drafting strategy, personnel, and roster building. That certainly has proven fruitful as the Patriots built one of the greatest dynasties in NFL history.
Now that Belichick is no longer in Foxborough, the Patriots have to find another way that works. Under the first-time head coach Jerod Mayo and the de facto general manager Eliot Wolf, New England has to carve out a new path to relevance.
In his remarks after the 2024 NFL Draft, Mayo highlighted what changed with the Patriots' strategy and vision. While doing so, he didn't shy away from criticizing Belichick.
Jerod Mayo Highlights Patriots' Change in Draft Strategy
Jerod Mayo on the #Patriots not trading the third pick:
— Carlos Talks Pats (@LosTalksPats) May 1, 2024
“With Bill (Belichick), we probably would have traded back… Our path for so long has been accumulating more picks… we still believe in that. But we also believe… you have to get it right and get a cornerstone player."… pic.twitter.com/zvBwDiDEyM
The Patriots were holding the no. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Previously, Pats fans have gotten used to trading down and accumulating more assets in the draft. Belichick was a big fan of taking as many flyers as possible in the draft.
There were some rumors that New England might do that again with their third-overall pick. Instead, they stood pat and took Drake Maye.
"With Bill (Belichick), we probably would have traded back… Our path for so long has been accumulating more picks… we still believe in that. But we also believe… you have to get it right and get a cornerstone player."
- Patriots HC Jerod Mayo
All the reporting pre-draft indicated that the Patriots had a price for the third-overall pick. When no team met this price, the Patriots went ahead and selected who they thought was the best prospect on the board for them.
Mayo was clear about their approach, differentiating himself from Belichick. If the 2024 NFL Draft is any indication, we can expect the Patriots to identify talent and be aggressive in getting them instead of playing the asset accumulation game.
Whether this shift in strategy brings success to the Patriots remains to be seen, but it must be refreshing for Pats fans to finally have a high draft pick on the roster.
More Patriots news and rumors:
feed