Mayo & reaching

A few emails were delivered Saturday night and Sunday morning asking the question: Did the Patriots reach at No. 10 to select Tennessee LB Jerod Mayo.

After speaking with two officials from other NFL clubs, their feeling was no.

Mayo was a player who did not project as a top-10 pick on many of the media mock drafts leading into the weekend. He was a late riser, which one scout explained was due in part to him entering the draft after his junior season. The scout explained that once teams began doing more work on Mayo when he declared, it became clear he had the size/speed/smarts/intangibles combination that teams covet. Mayo tested well at the combine, then made 11 pre-draft visits, which was a sign of his rise. It seemed many media mock drafts, which create the perception of when a player should be selected, never caught up with Mayo.

Another scout said simply that Mayo was a top player in the SEC, playing at the highest level, and that he was worthy of the pick.

As noted in this piece in Sunday's Boston Globe, the Patriots were on the clock at No. 10 and had trade options to move down. But the fact they held on to the pick probably speaks to how highly they rated Mayo, and also their keen understanding of which teams behind them were ready to pounce.

The Lions (15) and Eagles (19) both liked Mayo, and had the Patriots traded down, they risked losing their man.