After winning Super Bowls, embarrassing the Jets, trading down in the draft and exploiting loopholes in the league rulebook, you know what the Belichick-era Patriots loved most?

Silver foxes.

Under Belichick, the Pats annually fielded one of the NFL’s oldest rosters by average player age. Their averages were not anchored by the ageless Tom Brady and special teams sage Matthew Slater. They were boosted by mid-level veterans Belichick targeted in free agency or pick-swap trades, several of whom filled out his final Super Bowl teams: Chris Long, Martellus Bennett, Adrian Clayborn, Danny Shelton and Jason McCourty, to name a few.

The Patriots were a graying machine built to win now, through experience, smarts and versatility. As you know, the Patriot Way is gone. Belichick’s successors have paved right over it the last few months and initiated a rebuild following a new method: The Packer Way.

The initial stages of a Green Bay-style rebuild involve quite the opposite: young players and growing pains. Director of scouting Eliot Wolf, an ex-Packers executive, declared back in February that under his leadership, and new head coach Jerod Mayo, the Patriots are headed for a youth movement.

“I think there’s just going to be a little bit more reliance on playing young players,” Wolf said at the NFL Scouting Combine. “I think it’s really important in today’s football to be able to play young players and develop from within.”

Like Wolf, Mayo repeated the phrase “draft and develop” several times this offseason. It is the organization’s new mantra, as the front offices strips its roster down to the studs and enacts a multi-year plan. Despite re-signing all of their highest-priced internal free agents, the Patriots still lead the league in cap space for 2024 and 2025, a concerted effort — one would hope — to spend big next offseason and the year after that, when the team is closer to contending.

In the meantime, here come the kids.

“You want to play younger players because, I mean, first of all, they’re cheaper,” Mayo said with a smile. “And then second of all, I want to say you want to have a good mix, though. You can’t have all 22, 23 year olds out there. You need that 30-year-old that can kind of settle everyone down that has that experience, too.”

Callahan: What will the Patriots’ next major roster move be?

In the process of turning back the clock, the Patriots parted with most of their 30-year-olds, including Lawrence Guy, Adrian Phillips, Ezekiel Elliott, Trent Brown and DeVante Parker. Now, there are just six players aged 30 or older on the roster.

Long snapper Joe Cardona is the oldest at 32, followed by outside linebacker Matt Judon, quarterback Jacoby Brissett, center David Andrews, cornerback Jonathan Jones and defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale. Of that group, only Cardona is under contract after this season, meaning it’s possible the Patriots could field an entire team under 30 next season; especially if their new rookies hit.

The Patriots currently roster 18 rookies, including eight draft picks who all have clear pathways to a Week 1 roster spot; from Drake Maye to seventh-round tight end Jaheim Bell. Even sixth-round quarterback Joe Milton, a talented wild card with unimpressive college production, holds an edge over Bailey Zappe in the quarterbacks room. He has time and traits, which Zappe does not.

Again, draft and develop.

Before he took over the Patriots’ front office, Wolf lost out on the Packers’ GM job in January 2018 to Brian Gutekunst, who still oversees the front office in Green Bay. Last year, the Packers made the divisional-round of the playoffs while fielding the youngest team in the league. In February, he described the process known as the Packer Way.

“It’s about the work. There’s no shortcuts. It’s about putting in the time, boots on the ground to get to know these players and get to know the people who know these players. And then trusting the process and believing (in it),” Gutekunst said at the combine.

Patriots’ Mike Onwenu still believes he can expand his versatility, value in future

“And I think, we’ve all been kind of trained in the same way, and had a lot of faith and — not that we’re always trying to tweak and get better — but a lot of the foundational principles of what we are taught (are the same).”

Assuming Wolf is empowered long-term with a new contract and the same roster control, the Patriots will be patient. They will plan and allow for growing pains. They will deploy their rookies and second-year players, possibly while even knowing veterans at the same position might offer them a better chance to win.

Get ready, rooks. Stay ready, Keion White and Marte Mapu. It’s go time, Tyquan Thornton, Marcus Jones, Atoni Mafi and Cole Strange.

Because that is draft and develop. That is rebuilding. That is the Packer Way.

AFC exec assesses Pats’ draft

An AFC personnel executive spoke with the Herald about the Patriots’ top draft picks, breaking down how he viewed them as prospects and selections given what else was available at the time they were picked.

The Pats drafted North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye at No. 3 overall, Washington wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk in the second round at 37th overall and Penn State offensive tackle Caedan Wallace in the third round at No. 68.

QB Drake Maye

North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye poses with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after being chosen by the New England Patriots with the third overall pick during the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

“Uber talented. The one thing is he didn’t have a great 2023 season, and I kind of attributed a little bit to guys around him. He lost (Colts wide receiver Josh) Downs. But I think there’s plenty, if not more, talent there than the guys above him (Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels), if you can get it out of them. If he’s not forced to start day one, that’s probably a good thing. But overall, that’s who I would have taken if I was there.

“The one thing is he made a lot of throws over the middle of the field that were really impressive. Accuracy, velocity, all that. And what sticks out to me on the other side, was he missed a lot of throws outside the numbers. Again, (it) could be talent around him, but with a guy who has good to very good arm strength, you usually want the throws outside the numbers because those are harder to make.”

WR Ja’Lynn Polk

“Very, very versatile. He can play inside and outside, very efficient. Not fast, but he has an excellent kind of smoothness and body control about him. Has good technique at the top of the route, really good size, play strength in contested catches. We liked him. I think he’s going to be a bigger, more physical version of Jakobi Meyers, which is probably what they hope he is.

“I think they probably just played their board (trading back). This year’s draft, once you got out of the top 15 to 17 players, everyone’s board looked drastically different, is my sense.”

OT Caedan Wallace

“We weren’t nearly as high on him, truthfully. We had him a round or two after where they took him. Can he play left tackle? I think he’s more of a right tackle. That’s more of the play style when you watch him. We had some question marks, too, like how much love does he really have for it? He’s athletic enough, and had pretty good tape last year. I can see it, we just weren’t as sold.”

New year, new slogans

Patriots coach Jerod Mayo has redecorated parts of the team’s facility, taking down the famous “Do Your Job” slogans in favor of his own.

Mayo, according to veteran players who met with the media this week, has replaced it with reminders of “We not me,” and “Process… Progress… Payoff” in different parts of the building. The latter is a phrase linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley said the team intends to live by and spread as Mayo builds out his new program.

The New England Patriots introduce Jerod Mayo as their new head coach. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)

“That’s one right when we walk in the door. It’s big for us,” Bentley said Thursday. “Our biggest thing is not only the slogans, it’s not letting them just be slogans. Everybody has a war cry. Everybody has a slogan they just say every day or write down every day, but do you actually live by it?”

Related Articles

Patriots mailbag: How to decipher trade talks in 2024 NFL Draft

Patriots’ defense already starting ahead despite changes in leadership

Patriots’ Mike Onwenu still believes he can expand his versatility, value in future

Sources: Patriots add kicking competition with veteran free agent

Callahan: What will the Patriots’ next major roster move be?

According to the NFL Network, Mayo also adopted “When we win, we win together,” a suggestion from offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt.

Quote of the Week

“I’m happy to be back here. So, that’s all that matters.” — Patriots right tackle Mike Onwenu on re-signing in free agency