Jerod Mayo is such an important part of the New England Patriots’ organization for a multitude of reasons.
He’s entering his fourth season as the inside linebackers coach and de facto defensive coordinator for the team. Mayo also played eight years at linebacker for the Patriots, while earning First-Team All-Pro honors once and being selected for the Pro Bowl twice.
Mayo was drafted with the No. 10 pick in 2008 following the Patriots’ magical 16-0 season — that ultimately ended with a Super Bowl loss. He came in the following year and made an impact immediately, while earning the AP’s Defensive Rookie of the Year award.
He joined the Pats from the Past podcast and discussed his draft day experience, and he shared an interesting story about drinking some tequila with his family — as he elected to watch the draft from home.
“I was raking leaves with my mom. I was raking leaves outside. So my brothers, we rarely get together, but when we all get together we like to have a drink or two,” Mayo said, transcribed by masslive.com. “So one of my brothers was like, ‘All right, we’re going to do a shot every pick that goes by that you’re not picked.’ So I was like whoa! If I would have went 20th, I wouldn’t be here today. That’s why I don’t drink Patron to this day now. Because we were drinking Patron and I was the 10th overall pick. So you do the math.
“It was a good time though. It was a celebration. There were a lot of tears because honestly, these are things you think of when you’re a five or six-year-old kid.”
As Mayo said, good thing he didn’t get drafted any further than the No. 10 pick — or it could’ve been all bad.
