FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) – The New England Patriots, looking to shore up an aging linebacker corps, chose Jerod Mayo of Tennessee with the 10th pick of the NFL draft Saturday.

The Patriots originally had the seventh choice but traded it and their fifth-round pick to New Orleans for the 10th pick and the Saints’ third-rounder.

Mayo played inside and outside linebacker in college.

The Patriots won their first 18 games last season but missed a perfect season with a 17-14 loss to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.

Three starting linebackers who return from that team, Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel and Adalius Thomas, will be 31 or older when the season starts. Junior Seau, who had offseason rotator cuff surgery, will be 39 then and also could return.

On April 7, New England signed 28-year-old linebacker Victor Hobson, who became a free agent after playing for the New York Jets.

The Patriots added a defensive player in the first round for the second straight year, with Mayo following safety Brandon Meriweather, who was taken with the 24th pick in 2007.

“We added a good player on defense,” New England coach Bill Belichick said. “We added one last year. So, hopefully, we can continue to get a little bit younger on the defensive side of the ball.”

Until Saturday, the earliest the Patriots had drafted a safety since Belichick became coach in January 2000 was in the fifth round in 2005 when they took Ryan Claridge of Nevada-Las Vegas. The only other two linebackers the team drafted in the Top 10 were Willie McGinest of Southern California, picked fourth in 1994, and Chris Singleton of Arizona, chosen eighth in 1990.

Mayo, a junior, started 25 of his 26 games the last two seasons. In 2007, he led the Southeastern Conference with 140 tackles, the most in a single season by a Tennessee player since 1990. His 19 tackles against Kentucky last year were the most in one game by a Volunteer since 1988.

“He’s got some versatility,” Belichick said, “played at a very high level of competition in the SEC, played against all the best players in the country.”

Mayo made a game-high 13 tackles in a 21-17 win over Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1 that moved Tennessee up to 12th in the final Top 25 poll.

He’s 6-feet-1 and weighs 242 pounds with speed and agility that allow him to cover outside running plays. He excelled in the last four games with 15 tackles against Vanderbilt, 19 against Kentucky, 15 against national champion LSU and 13 against Wisconsin.

“He (was) a productive player in every game,” Belichick said. “We brought him up, visited with him. He’s a very intelligent player,” who made calls on defense.

Despite their outstanding season, the Patriots still had the seventh pick that they obtained during last year’s draft from San Francisco. They forfeited their own first-round pick this year, the 31st, as punishment for using a video camera to spy on New York Jets coaches in the season opener.

New England also had the next to last pick in the second round. Rounds 3-7 are scheduled for Sunday.

The Patriots start the second day with three picks in the third round – one from a trade with Oakland last year and the other from Saturday’s deal with New Orleans.

“I think that (pick) will be helpful at some point along the line,” Belichick said, “whether we end up using it to pick a player or trade up.”

AP-ES-04-26-08 1915EDT