Jerod Mayo talks Patriots’ draft approach on NFL Network

Patriots

New England’s first five picks were all offensive players, including two receivers.

Jerod Mayo, entering his first season as Patriots head coach, completes his first NFL draft on Saturday.

Ahead of New England’s sixth-round picks, the former player-turned-coach set aside a few minutes for an appearance on NFL Network, where he discussed the Patriots’ approach to this year’s draft and the luck for Drake Maye to start week 1.

Check out his full appearance below:

At the time of Mayo’s appearance, the Patriots made five picks, and all five were offensive selections. Mayo discussed this thought process with himself and the front office.

“We enter the draft with needs; Obviously we had a lot of needs on the offensive side of the ball,” Mayo said. “I think Eliot (Wolf) and (Matt) Groh…our recruiting department, working with our coaches, has done a good job of really targeting people, really on both sides of the ball. But we know that to win games in this league, you have to have a productive offense. So that was the plan in place.

Mayo was also asked about this year’s draft process compared to previous years under Bill Belichick, and spoke candidly about the team process leading up to each pick.

“It’s been a very collaborative collaboration, and I will say this: ownership has given us the freedom to really use our expertise,” Mayo said. “And that’s being a football coach, being a football scout. I think the whole organization here has done a good job of coming together and making a decision all together instead of one man having to make the final decision.

When asked about Drake Maye potentially leaving for this season, Mayo didn’t rule out the possibility.

“Speaking of quarterback, or any position, our philosophy is that we will compete in everything we do on and off the field, and we will put in place the best players who will give this organization the better chance of winning,” Mayo said. “So we’ll have to see.”

New England’s final selection, barring trades, was a tight end, making seven of its eight rookies offensive players.