People around the NFL are really pumping Eliot Wolf’s tires

The New England Patriots are coming off a 4-13 season and have their work cut out for them to rebuild their organization. But there are some execs around the National Football League who believe they're in good hands with Eliot Wolf, a.k.a. their de facto general manager.

Wolf is technically the Patriots' director of scouting, but multiple recent reports have indicated that he is working as if he's the GM, just not with the official title. He's not new to this, and he didn't come out of nowhere. Wolf is the son of Hall-of-Fame former Packers GM Ron Wolf and has worked in various front office capacities since 2004, including Green Bay's director of football operations.

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So, while the Patriots' coaching hires so far under Wolf may feel underwhelming, the 2024 off-season is just getting started and it's all going to come down to the players. But according to ESPN's Dan Graziano, there are "a lot" of other experienced NFL figures who feel good about their chances of turning things around with Wolf running things.

Graziano wrote, in part: “Eliot Wolf’s apparent ascension to the top spot in the Patriots’ personnel department has a lot of people around the league encouraged about New England’s long-term prospects. There could be growing pains under first-time coach Jerod Mayo while the new staff settles in, but a lot of people I talk to say Wolf - a longtime Packers executive who has worked in New England’s front office since 2020 - is overdue for a chance to run his own front office show and will thrive in the role.”

Despite the confidence of people around the league in Wolf as the Patriots' new GM-by-default, it really comes down to one thing: the quarterback position. Wolf needs to nail that part. But if and when he does, everything else could start falling into place for the rebuilding Patriots.

Wolf hopefully isn't actually turning to 98.5 The Sports Hub for advice. But ideally, he's doing a couple of the things from our 7-point plan to fix the Patriots roster, which you can read below.

The New England Patriots have a lot of work to do. This off-season, and the next, and the one after that.

But it's still possible for the team to improve their roster in one year enough to return to playoff contention. It's going to involve things that are never the ideal plan, like big free-agent spending. But that's the situation the Pats have ended up in to start the Jerod Mayo era.

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Realistically, this rebuild is going to take years. Especially if they draft a quarterback and decide to sit and develop him for his rookie year. But drafting a quarterback with that third overall pick seems like the most logical, realistic, and likely outcome for the Patriots at that position.

And even then, they'll be far from done. They need at least one, if not two starting tackles. They could use multiple infusions of talent at wide receiver. And who knows, maybe the quarterback doesn't work out and they have to draft another one down the road.

But! If the Patriots followed this 7-point plan, they'd position themselves well to turn things around quickly - provided they add the right players. Frankly, it would be great if they even did just one or two of these things. They almost certainly will, because some of these things are absolute musts and have been hinted at already, anyway. So, you can expect at least a couple of these things to be things.

Here's what I believe the Patriots can accomplish all in just this one off-season, and give themselves a good chance to become AFC contenders once again.

The first big bullet: bring in one of the top free-agent wide receivers. This year is a time to strike, as the free agent market fluctuates from year-to-year as far as the level of talent at the top. The 2024 free agent receiver class is top-heavy with legitimate high-end players that make the kind of money you inevitably need to pay to have them.

There's a "Big 4" of sorts among the free agent receivers this off-season: Mike Evans, Tee Higgins, Michael Pittman Jr., and Calvin Ridley. All will probably come at high price tags, but would have a good chance to deliver a high impact to their new teams.

This should be a no-brainer. The Patriots offensive line markedly improved once they moved Mike Onwenu to right tackle, and they desperately need a starting tackle as Onwenu heads for free agency. He won't be cheap - Onwenu may be able to command an AAV in the range of $17-20 million - but it's the price you pay when you have no tackles.

But Onwenu is a high-end homegrown talent at his position, and so he deserves to be rewarded with a second contract in New England. They need him. He and the receiver can round out their big free-agent spending, with the rest going toward complementary pieces. That would qualify as a successful free agency spree.

Three or higher. The Patriots really shouldn't draft any lower than No. 3 overall. You can't move down from 3 when there are three quarterbacks sitting there ready to be taken. Head coach Jerod Mayo recently said in an interview that the Patriots are going to "draft the best player for a position that’s very important." So, it's quite possible he was referring to this year's "Big 3" quarterbacks of Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Jayden Daniels.

When things go as bad as they did for the Patriots, and you end up that high in a quarterback-heavy draft, you pretty much have to gamble on the quarterback. Daniels, for example, would certainly be a bigger gamble than a safer pick like wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. But you can't risk being the team that passed on a franchise QB, either. Especially a team in the Patriots' position. So, they should absolutely take a QB with their first pick.

The Patriots have the 34th pick at the top of the second round, and they should be able to get a good tackle prospect at that spot. Perhaps they could move back up into the first round to get one. But it's a deep tackle class, and someone like Arizona's Jordan Morgan should be available at 34.

Tackle may not be a sexy position, but it can't be ignored. Any quarterback is limited without good protection, and the Patriots have an urgent need. So, they should definitely dip into this tackle pool, and with a high pick.

This one might be the first outside-the-box kind of idea for the Patriots, as the preceding points are more like "How do we approach this obvious need?" Cornerback is not an obvious need for the Patriots, but they should keep drafting them with legit picks.

Why? The Patriots don't have much after Christian Gonzalez in terms of legitimate outside corners. They can and probably will get out from under J.C. Jackson's contract, and Jonathan Jones is another year older and has never been a perfect fit on the perimeter, anyway. Could Georgia's Kamari Lassiter be an option on day 2 of the draft? This is a position that shouldn't be ignored, despite the Patriots' needs on offense. Cornerback remains a premium position, regardless, and should always be replenished with talent.

Yes, we're putting a picture of Joe Flacco. He was just in Cleveland, working with the Patriots' new offensive coordinator, Alex Van Pelt. Flacco came off the street and posted an admirable 90.2 passer rating for the Browns, leading them into the playoffs, so he should be able to get another job if he wants one.

Especially if the Patriots are going to move on from Mac Jones and/or Bailey Zappe, they're going to need a veteran backup QB. Perhaps they could turn to old friend Jacoby Brissett, too. But regardless, that room could use some experience and maturity.

Matthew Slater is a possibility to retire and Bill Belichick is gone. It's time to de-emphasize that third phase of the game. Not that the Patriots need to employ ZERO specialists. But they can absolutely coach up their backup offensive and defensive players to also play special teams. They don't need half a squad of pure special teamers. It's time to take that space and invest it in offense.

Get complete New England Patriots coverage at 985TheSportsHub.com.

Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Check out all of Matt's content.

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