In a landslide win of 49 out of 50 votes, New England Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo has won the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year. Mayo led a linebacker group that struggled at times with 137 tackles and proved the Pats were smart for grabbing him at #10 in this past April’s Draft.

“Jerod’s done a lot for us,” coach Bill Belichick said. “We’ve asked a lot of him and from Day 1 he’s really been a well-prepared, very mature player who can do a lot of things: play the running game, play in the passing game, blitz, helps us in the kicking game.

“He’s smart, makes a lot of defensive adjustments and calls for us there. He runs well. He’s tough. He’s a good all-around football player, very mature, very professional. For a rookie, he’s probably as professional as anybody I’ve coached.”

A starter all season, Mayo is the sixth-straight linebacker to win the award.

“Jerod’s taken his leadership up,” linebacker Mike Vrabel said. “I think he came in as a rookie and obviously learned the playbook and learned everything in and out and physically can go out there and make any play that we needed him to.”