Eliot Wolf discussed Patriots’ draft approach, possibility of trades
"It's the most important position in pro sports, as is well-documented."
Patriots‘ director of scouting Eliot Wolf is on the verge of one of the first major moments of his tenure in the New England spotlight.
In many ways, Wolf is acting as the Patriots’ general manager—he has been front and center from a media standpoint, and explained at the scouting combine that he will be the one to make the decision on New England’s picks.
Still, Wolf is not the actual GM, a role that remains unfilled. And with the recent report that team president Jonathan Kraft will be “heavily involved” in the process, fans will probably have questions about the Patriots’ post-Bill Belichick structure.
Now on the verge of the draft, Wolf sat down with radio co-host and commentator (as well as former Patriots quarterback) Scott Zolak to discuss the situation.
“I think we’re ready to go,” Wolf said of New England’s position heading into Thursday night. “We’re well-prepared, talked to a lot of people, we’ve watched a lot of film, we have all our information, working the phones, dealing with the coaches. It’s been good. It’s been a good process for us.”
Exactly who the Patriots will be aiming to draft remains elusive for prognosticators. Inside the building, Wolf noted that the group has been analyzing as many scenarios as they can.
“I think we do,” he replied when asked if New England’s front office is in agreement on the plan. “It’s been good so far, and picking at three, there’s only two players that are going to go off the board before us. So we’re going to work through all the scenarios, other than the trades that might pop up while we’re on the clock.”
Currently, Caleb Williams remains the near-unanimous projection to go first overall to the Bears. Jayden Daniels is projected (with slightly less certainty) to go No. 2 to Washington. Once those players are gone, the draft becomes less predictable (starting with the Patriots’ pick a third overall).
New England is in need of a quarterback. The added weight of trying to make the right choice at that particular position is not lost on Wolf.
“It’s an important, potentially franchise-changing decision for the organization, so it’s definitely something that we weighed heavily,” he said. “It’s the most important position in pro sports, as is well-documented.”
One of the more intriguing scenarios for the Patriots inevitably involves trading the third pick in order to acquire additional picks or players to help build the team’s understrength roster.
Wolf acknowledged that he’s been in contact with other teams about a possible trade. Even more interestingly, he admitted that trade scenarios might not fully develop until it’s the Patriots’ turn to pick as the draft is already going.
“We’ve received calls on our first several picks from a couple different teams. Nothing too serious yet,” he explained. “Sounds like there are some teams that may be more motivated, if you listen to the whispers out there, that we might hear some more things once we’re on the clock.”
Beyond the first-round choice, New England will have seven other picks. It offers an invaluable chance to increase depth at a lower cost.
Specifically, Wolf mentioned “skill positions” as a focus point.
“It’s a deep draft at a lot of the skill positions, and we feel like we can supplement our roster in a lot of ways this weekend.”
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