After the New England Patriots drafted Jerod Mayo with the tenth overall pick in the 2008 NFL draft, head coach Bill Belichick praised his team’s new addition not just for his athletic abilities but also for his smarts. “He’s a very intelligent player, he’s a good football player,” Belichick said at the time. “He’s smart, he understands schemes and concepts, he runs the defense, makes the calls, makes adjustments and all those things.”
Over the next nine seasons, the Tennessee linebacker proved to be all those things: Mayo became the heart of New England’s defense, a team captain and leader as well as one of the most productive players the league had to offer at his position.