Jerod Mayo defends Vince Wilfork at Hall of Fame

The Patriots received some bittersweet news from the Hall of Fame this week.

First, it was announced Wednesday that former Patriots safety Rodney Harrison, nose tackle Vince Wilfork and kicker Adam Vinatieri had been named semifinalists for induction as part of the 2025 class.

However, it was reported a day later that Patriots owner Robert Kraft was not inducted into 2025 as a contributor. NFL co-founder Ralph Hay will instead move on to the final round of voting after the contributors committee votes.

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo defended his owner when asked about Kraft’s snub during his press conference Friday.

“I don’t know how this process works, but I don’t think there’s anyone more deserving than Robert Kraft to be inducted into the Hall of Fame,” Mayo said.

Kraft’s Hall of Fame quest has become more of a storyline in recent years. An ESPN article published in September detailed Kraft’s campaign to get into the Hall of Fame, which included, among other things, sending voters copies of the book “The Dynasty.”

For now, Kraft will have to wait at least another year before possibly being inducted into the Hall of Fame. So, Mayo made the case for one of his former teammates to go into the Hall of Fame on Friday, saying he thought Wilfork should be enshrined in Canton.

“When I came into the league in 2008 and was named Rookie of the Year, it was because of those guys up front,” Mayo said of his experience playing with Wilfork. “It started with Vince on the nose. Honestly, for a defensive lineman, he was a dominant player. Sometimes the stats don’t do him justice, but he was a dominant player for a very long time.

“I hope he gets in. I don’t have a vote, but I hope he gets in.”

Wilfork was one of several decorated players to play for the Patriots during the dynasty era. He was named All-Pro and Pro Bowler five times during his 11 seasons with the Patriots (2004-14). He was named to several variations of All-Patriots teams, including the 50th Anniversary All-Patriots team in 2009.

More importantly, Wilfork played a role in two of the Patriots’ six Super Bowl titles. This helped him get elected to the Patriots Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2022.

Even though Wilfork only recorded 16 career sacks, many have said similar things to Mayo, that statistics don’t tell the whole picture.

“Vince is almost unblockable in the running game. And in the passing game, there are guys that could take him on, but his overall strength and athleticism for his size was pretty impressive,” former Patriots coach Bill Belichick said of Wilfork in 2021 “And because we had players like [Richard] Seymour, there was less need to use Vince on third down – although we used him on third down, and he made some huge plays on third down, like in the AFC Championship Game against Baltimore. [in 2021].

“I mean, he really won that game with his assist in the fourth quarter. [Joe] Flacco in the middle of the pocket.

Belichick called Wilfork, along with Seymour, one of the two best defensive linemen he ever coached. Seymour received the call to the Hall in 2022, becoming the third member of the Patriots’ dynasty era (Randy Moss, Ty Law) to be inducted. Wilfork, Harrison and Vinatieri will learn if they will be finalists for the class of 2025 in December.

Inductees for the Class of 2025 are announced in February.