Jerod Mayo says he wants to help any way he can.

AP/ Wade Payne

FOXBORO — In the eight-plus years that Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli have been calling the shots for the New England Patriots, there have been a lot of surprises.

But there were also some things you could count on: the Patriots would make a trade — or two, or three — on draft weekend, they wouldn’t necessarily draft for need, and the team wouldn’t use a high draft pick on a linebacker.

As of yesterday, one of those statements is no longer true.

They made a trade, and hinted at the possibility of more. But after the trade, they took a linebacker with the 10th overall pick. Belichick and Pioli proved once again that there are no hard-and-fast rules when it comes to putting together their roster.

Tennessee standout Jerod Mayo becomes the first linebacker taken in the first round by New England since Andy Katzenmoyer in 1999 (and that was one year before Belichick/Pioli).

While it had become accepted that the Pats didn’t use high draft picks on linebackers, given that they ask so much of their ’backers and younger players don’t often absorb all of the lessons so well, Belichick indicated that it wasn’t that simple.

He also said Mayo is special.

“He is one of the better linebackers we have seen in a while,” he said. “We haven’t been picking at this point in the draft either, but I’m glad we were picking where we were.

“There were no grand plans to take him or not take him. We evaluate all the players and when it’s time to pick, you take a look at the players available and pick what’s best for the football team. It worked out that way this year. It could have worked out differently in other years, but it didn’t.”

In the style that has become their trademark, Belichick and Pioli were able to get their man and simultaneously swing a deal that works to their advantage on several levels.

Knowing that the New Orleans Saints were hot to get either LSU defensive lineman Glenn Dorsey or USC defensive lineman Sedrick Ellis, New England was on the phone with Saints’ brass on Friday, setting the foundation for a trade that would make both sides happy.

When Ellis was still on the board at No. 7, the Pats and Saints finished the details of the trade. New Orleans got the player it coveted and New England got the Saints’ spot at No. 10 as well as a third-round pick (78th overall).

Mayo, projected by many as a late first-round to early second-round player, was there for the taking at No. 10.

And by moving down just three spots, the Patriots saved themselves several million dollars. Last year’s No. 7 pick, Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson, received $17 million in guaranteed money, while the No. 10 pick, Houston’s Amobi Okoye, received $12.8 million.

In a conference call with the media, Mayo expressed his excitement several times, and said several things that make it easy to see why he was so appealing to Belichick and his staff.

“You don’t expect a team that only lost one game last year to have a top-10 pick, but at the same time, they were winning before me and they would be winning even if I’m not there, so I just want to come in and make a contribution,” Mayo said.

The Virginia native said that his contribution to the team could be anything from winning the job as a starting linebacker to becoming a key special-teams player. He said he has no preference for playing inside or outside linebacker. The way he sees it, Mayo said, he’ll either be learning from some of the best inside linebackers in the business or some of the best outside ’backers.

While Belichick said it was possible for New England to make more moves during the course of the day, the team remained at its natural spot in the second round, No. 62, selecting again for need when it tapped Colorado cornerback Terrence Wheatley. Wheatley, 5-foot-9 and weighing in at 183 pounds, could also be a kickoff returner.

Interestingly, in his nfl.com profile, Wheatley is compared to New England’s Ellis Hobbs.

The selection of a linebacker with their top pick wasn’t the only out-of-character thing happening at Gillette Stadium yesterday: Belichick, normally happy to sport his tattered hoodie, yesterday was resplendent in a gray suit and pale pink shirt and tie.

smanza@projo.com