3 takeaways from Eliot Wolf’s post-draft press conference with Patriots
“I think we'll be much more competitive this year."
The Patriots closed out the 2025 NFL Draft on Saturday — ending the three-day event by bringing in 10 new players that could account for several deficiencies across the depth chart.
Here’s a quick look at New England’s 2025 Draft Class:
- Round 1, No. 4: OT Will Campbell
- Round 2, No 38: RB TreVeyon Henderson
- Round 3, No 69: WR Kyle Williams
- Round 3, No. 95: C Jared Wilson
- Round 4, No. 106: S Craig Woodson
- Round 4, No. 137: DT Joshua Farmer
- Round 5, No. 146: Edge Bradyn Swinson
- Round 6, No. 181: K Andres Borregales
- Round 7, No. 220: OT Marcus Bryant
- Round 7, No. 251: LS Julian Ashby
- Round 7, No. 257: CB Kobee Minor
Along with adding those seven Day 3 picks on Saturday, the Patriots are already in the process of adding more talent via undrafted free agents like Boston College offensive lineman Jack Conley, Northern Illinois fullback Brock Lampe, Louisiana QB Ben Woolridge, and Eastern Washington WR Efton Chism III — who reeled in 120 catches and 1,311 receiving yards in 2024.
Speaking after the seventh round wrapped, Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf fielded questions from the media.
Here are three takeaways from Wolf’s Zoom presser:
Improvements across the board
The Patriots had no shortage of weaknesses to address across their depth chart this offseason.
While porous O-line play might have been the most glaring deficiency for New England following another four-win season, the case could be made that the Patriots also had to put a premium on explosive playmaking talent — while also adding some more dynamic prospects on the defensive side of the ball.
Patriots fans will have to wait until late July to see if some of these younger players have the mettle to thrive at the NFL level.
But on paper, Wolf and the rest of New England’s top brass seemingly accounted for several areas of need with multiple draft selections with high upside.
“As far as what we tried to accomplish, it was filling some of the holes that we had, and increasing the depth and competition on the roster with the right type of people,” Wolf said.
New England added two potential starters at the line of scrimmage through the first three rounds — taking the best left tackle in the 2025 draft class in Will Campbell before adding a potential starting center (or left guard) in Jared Wilson.
While both Campbell and Wilson ideally form the foundation that keeps Drake Maye off the turf, New England also gave their second-year QB more weapons on offense with a potential home-run hitter in the backfield in TreVeyon Henderson — along with a dangerous X wideout in Kyle Williams.
“Pretty excited about the players that we were able to add to the team starting [Thursday] night and continuing on [Friday], Wolf said after Day 2 on Friday. “We obviously helped the offense out, and as we move forward here, [we’re] certainly going to look to address the defense.”
Sure enough, New England placed a premium on defensive talent in Rounds 4-5 — adding a pair of defensive linemen with high upside in Joshua Farmer and Bradyn Swinson.
Farmer — taken 137th overall — was tabbed as The Athletic’s Dane Brugler as his 76th-ranked prospect in this class, while Swinson (No. 146 overall, fifth round) was tabbed as a third-round pick by Brugler.
“I think anytime you can get some depth on the defensive line, whether it’s inside or outside, both these guys— Swinson has some pass rush, Farmer can rush the passer and play the run,” Wolf said.
“We were excited that those guys were still available and we just trusted the board. Not that you asked this, but kind of part of the reason for all the trades, just moving up and down the board as we saw fit where the value was.”
While the Patriots still have a ways to go as far as re-asserting themselves as a premier power, Wolf believes that the team’s draft performance — coupled with free-agent pickups like Milton Williams, Stefon Diggs, Harold Landry, and others — should put the team on the right track.
“I think we’ll be much more competitive this year,” Wolf said. “I don’t like to put expectations on it, but I think we did a lot of things this offseason that were advantageous to us moving forward and we continue to improve the depth of the team and ignite competition here today.”
An emphasis on special teams
After focusing on offense in Rounds 1-3 and adding high-upside defense prospects in Rounds 4-5, New England pivoted to special teams in the later stages of the 2025 NFL Draft.
New England took arguably the top-rated kicker in the draft in the sixth round (No. 182 overall) in Miami’s Andres Borregales, before becoming the first team since to draft a long snapper when it selected Vanderbilt’s Julian Ashby in the seventh round (No. 251 overall).
Ashby will compete with veteran long snapper Joe Cardona for the starting role during training camp in July and August.
“Julian Ashby was a player that we liked,” Wolf said. “We felt like he was the best long snapper in the draft. Through some of the conversations that we had, we felt like he might not be someone that would be available post-draft. Again, wanting to add some competition to the roster, we decided to pull the trigger there late.”
With John Parker Romo standing as the lone kicker on New England’s roster entering Saturday, targeting a player with Borregales’s resume (18-of-19 on FGs in 2024, 62-for-62 on PATs) also made plenty of sense.
“I feel like the special teams community always thinks like 10 kickers are going to get drafted every year, and that’s not the case. It’s a key of balancing your value for the player,” Wolf said. “We decided to jump in there with Andres when we did and feel pretty comfortable with that.
“Another kicker went shortly thereafter. We felt like Andres was good value there, and he was a player that was ranked high on our board.”
More collaboration
Beyond Jerod Mayo’s firing in January, a significant portion of New England’s front-office personnel was also overhauled following the arrival of Mike Vrabel as head coach.
Even though Wolf remains in the same role he held during the 2024 season, Vrabel has brought in other names to build up the rest of New England’s personnel staff — including vice president of player personnel Ryan Cowden and John “Stretch” Streicher as vice president of football operations and strategy.
Both Cowden and Streicher worked with Vrabel previously in Tennessee, but Wolf stressed on Saturday that their experience and collaboration has also made things much more seamless during this draft — especially when compared to last year.
“Ijust think the whole vision for the team was really good. Not that we didn’t have that last year, or with Bill [Belichick] previously, but there was a lot of clear communication between [Mike] Vrabel and our staff. He was around a lot in our meetings.
“ It was just a really good process. I would say, as the guys are still working on it right now, hopefully they’re closing some of these undrafted free agent deals out, and this is on me from last year. We just didn’t have an organized enough process, and Ryan Cowden and Coach Vrabel and Stretch really came in and helped me organize this. I think we’re going to have a productive group.”
Cowden — when asked about what was an apparent debate in New England’s draft room ahead of the team’s second-round pick — stressed that such discourse and disagreements are productive during these critical stretches on the NFL calendar.
“I’m never going to have all the right interests, I can promise you,” Cowden said. “But I think collectively, when we put those thoughts and opinions together, and are able to voice those and [show] respect each other for where those opinions come from, I think that can get you to the right answer.
“And I think what happened [Friday] night was just an illustration of that in real time, and it was really good,” he added. “I think it’s a healthy thing. And I think in the end what that does is it allows us to come to a consensus after listening to each other’s opinions, and understanding that you respect where those come from because of the work that’s been put in by each of those individuals.”
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com