Patriots
Patriots scouting director Eliot Wolf is poised for certainly one of the primary big moments of his tenure within the New England highlight.
In some ways, Wolf serves because the Patriots' general manager – he was front and center from a media perspective and stated on the scouting mix that he could be the one to determine New England's selection.
Still, Wolf isn’t the actual GM, a job that continues to be unfilled. And given the recent report that team president Jonathan Kraft might be “heavily involved in the process,” fans will likely have questions on the Patriots' post-Bill Belichick structure.
Now, just before the draft, Wolf sat down with radio co-host and commentator (in addition to former Patriots quarterback) Scott Zolak discuss the situation.
“I think we’re good to go,” Wolf said of New England’s position heading into Thursday night. “We're well prepared, we've talked to a lot of people, we've seen a lot of film, we have all our information, we're working the phones and dealing with the coaches. It was good. It was a good process for us.”
Who precisely the Patriots need to recruit stays unclear to forecasters. Inside the constructing, Wolf noted that the group had analyzed as many scenarios as possible.
“I think we do,” he said when asked if New England’s front office agreed with the plan. “It's been going well so far and if you pick three players, only two players will come off the board ahead of us. So we will go through all the scenarios except for the trades that might come up while we are on the clock.”
Currently, Caleb Williams stays the near-unanimous prediction that the Bears will take him first overall. Jayden Daniels is predicted to go to Washington (at barely lower security) because the No. 2 pick. Once those players are gone, the draft becomes less predictable (starting with the Patriots' third overall pick).
New England needs a quarterback. The added weight of attempting to make the correct alternative at this particular position isn’t lost on Wolf.
“It's a major, potentially franchise-changing decision for the organization, so it's definitely something we weighed heavily,” he said. “It is the most important position in professional sports, as has been well documented.”
One of the more interesting scenarios for the Patriots inevitably involves trading the third pick to amass additional picks or players to assist construct the team's undermanned roster.
Wolf admitted that he’s involved with other teams a couple of possible trade. What's much more interesting is that he admitted that the trade scenarios may not fully develop until it’s the Patriots' turn to determine to draft, because the draft is already underway.
“We received calls from different teams for our first picks. Nothing serious yet,” he explained. “Sounds like there are some teams that are maybe more motivated if you listen to the whispers out there then maybe we'll hear more when we're on the clock.”
Beyond the first-round selection, New England could have seven additional picks. It offers a useful opportunity to extend depth at a lower cost.
Specifically, Wolf mentioned “skill positions” as a spotlight.
“It’s a deep draft at many qualifying positions and we feel like we can add to our roster in many ways this weekend.”
image credit : www.boston.com