Zolak: Jonathan Kraft is “not heavily involved in the football part of it”

ESPN NFL reporter Dianna Russini caused a stir on Monday by tweeting that Patriots president Jonathan Kraft is "heavily involved in the decision making" when i comes tot he 3rd overall pick in the NFL Draft:

On the heels of this report, our own Scott Zolak says that he is hearing that Jonathan Kraft is not as involved in football decisions as is being reported:

"I was told Jonathan Kraft is not involved in football. Football decisions are made by the football people. Eliot Wolf, Matt Groh, Jerod Mayo and the football staff. Where I thought they would get involved was that, "hey, this team is calling Mr. Kraft or Jonathan Kraft, and they want our pick at three." This is where I thought they're not going to get involved telling you which quarterback to take or who we're trading back to get. It would make sense to me. If it's my organization, my team, and there's this other team offering all this stuff, I would like to be involved in that. And I thought, that's where this report came from Russini, where Jonathan is involved here. Like, if there's a big trade in the bag, they've got to get it approved. That would be normal operating procedure to me. And I was told that is not the case. This is all Eliot. This is all Jerod. And this is all football people. Jonathan's not running the football part of it. Business? Yes. Football? No."

Meanwhile, Marc Bertrand thinks, ownership should in fact be involved to a certain extent, especially this year.

"So Eliot Wolf can trade the number three overall pick and he doesn't have to run it by anybody? That to me is problematic. I like Eliot Wolf just fine. I think they probably made a decent pick if they're going to stick with Eliot Wolf going forward, but I'm sorry. Eliot Wolf is, for the first time in his football life, in charge. And this is the best pick the franchise has had in three decades and you don't have to call upstairs? I want him calling."

Find more of this conversation below and be sure to follow all our draft coverage here.

NFL Draft week is finally here after months and months of scouting reports, projections, rankings, and of course mock drafts. So, as we wait for the final few days to pass before teams are actually on the clock, let's change things up a little bit.

For the past two years in the week leading up to the draft I've put together this...I'm still not sure exactly what it is. Part mock draft, part big board, it's been popular so it's back for 2024.

--Everything Eliot Wolf said about the Patriots' big three needs during his pre-draft press conference
--There's already a favorite to win the Patriots' starting left tackle job
--The Patriots are 'open for business' heading into the NFL Draft

The point of this exercise is to get familiar with the projected board at each of the Patriots' eight currently-assigned draft spots, especially when it comes to positions of need. For each spot we'll highlight eight players - six projected to go right around that range plus one player who could fall to them but is projected higher (stretch) and one player who they may logically reach for (reach).

For those who want to play along, this can also turn into a mock draft. Simply pick one player from each assigned spot. Try to limited yourself to only one stretch player, while using at least one reach player. For an added challenge, don't look at the board ahead of time and decide your picks as you scroll through. If you want to share your mock draft on Twitter, you can tweet it at me @RealAlexBarth and I'll share some of my favorites.

-- QB Drake Maye, UNC
-- QB J.J. McCarthy, Michigan
-- WR Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State
-- WR Malik Nabers, LSU
-- OT Joe Alt, Notre Dame
-- TE Brock Bowers, Georgia
-- QB Jayden Daniels, LSU (stretch)
-- QB Michael Penix, Washington (reach)

O.K., so there are a few 'reaches' here by nature of this pick being at the top of the board. We had to get the options to eight players somehow, but realistically only five or six will get picked by those playing along - especially without trades.

-- WR Xavier Worthy, Texas
-- WR Ladd McConkey, Georgia
-- WR Troy Franklin, Oregon
-- OL Jordan Morgan, Arizona
-- OL Kingsley Suamataia, BYU
-- DB Mike Sainristil, Michigan
-- OL Tyler Guyton, Oklahoma (stretch)
-- TE Ja'Tavion Snaders, Texas (reach)

There are a handful of receivers that could be in play here, but were sticking with Worthy and McConkey as the two highest-rated players on the board and adding Frankin, who the Patriots hosted for a pre-draft meeting. Could Xavier Legette get past the Panthers at 33? Would the Patriots be interested in Roman Wilson or Ricky Pearsall?

Tackle is a bit more cut and dry in this spot. Suamataia and Morgan will likely be on the board, while Guyton is a trade-up option. No quarterbacks here, representing the very real chance the top six get taken in the first round.

-- WR Jalen McMillan, Washington
-- WR Tez Walker, UNC
-- OT Blake Fisher, Notre Dame
-- OT Patrick Paul, Houston
-- RB Blake Corum, Michigan
-- EDGE Austin Booker, Kansas
-- CB Max Melton, Rutgers (stretch)
-- QB Spencer Rattler, South Carolina (reach)

-- OT Roger Rosengarten, Washington
-- WR Javon Baker, UCF
-- TE Cade Stover, Ohio State
-- RB Braelon Allen, Wisconsin
-- CB Cam Hart, Notre Dame
-- EDGE Mohamed Kamara, Colorado State
-- WR Brenden Rice, USC (stretch)
-- QB Michael Pratt, Tulane (reach)

As Day 3 begins, it becomes less about drafting for position and more about just finding good football players. So, expect to see more positions start to appear on the board.

-- TE Jared Wiley, TCU
-- WR Luke McCaffrey, Rice
-- RB Dylan Laube
-- OT Javon Foster, Missouri 
-- LB Edefuan Ulofoshio, Washington
-- IOL Zak Zinter, Michigan
-- DT DeWayne Carter, Duke (stretch)
-- EDGE Jaylx Hunt, Houston Christian (reach)

This pick is probably where the Patriots enter the range where they can realistically start doubling up at key positions. Tackle and wide receiver are the most obvious two such spots.

-- EDGE Brennan Jackson, Washington State
-- CB Chau Wade-Smith, Washington State
-- K Joshua Karty, Stanford
-- QB Joe Milton, Tennessee
-- OT Walter Rouse, Olkahoma
-- S James Williams, Miami
-- EDGE Xavier Thomas, Clemson (stretch)
-- TE AJ Barner, Michigan (reach)

This is the first of the Patriots' two closest picks in the draft. They're back on the board 13 spots later.

-- TE Tip Reiman, Illinois
-- WR Bub Means, Pittsburgh
-- DT Jordan Jefferson, LSU
-- RB Dillon Johnson, Washington
-- RB Cody Schrader, Missouri
-- S Evan Williams, Oregon
-- EDGE Nelson Caesar (stretch)
-- LB Nathaniel Watson, Mississippi State (reach)

Just like that, back on the board again. Given how close together these picks are, for those playing along you could take two picks from the 180 or 193 spot, and no players from the other.

-- WR Jalen Coker, Holy Cross
-- K Harrison Mevis, Missouri
-- S Trey Taylor, Air Force
-- OT Frank Crum, Wyoming
-- QB Carter Bradley, South Alabama
-- IOL Kingsley Eguakun, Florida
-- WR Jordan Whittington, Texas (stretch)
-- LB Jackson Sirmon, Cal (reach)

Wrapping up the draft with the Patriots' final pick. Keep in mind that whatever player is selected here, he'll most likely have to play on special teams to make the roster.

-- QB Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland
-- RB Rasheen Ali, Marshall
-- WR Isaiah Williams, Illinois
-- TE Devin Culp, Washington
-- OT Giovanni Manu, UBC
-- IOL C.J. Hanson, Holy Cross
-- K Brayden Narveson, NC State

For those feeling up for a challenge, pick an offensive UDFA to add to your draft class. We'll do defense next.

-- DT Justin Rogers, Auburn
-- EDGE Jalen Green, James Madison
-- LB Aaron Casey, Illinois
-- CB Qwan'tez Stiggers, Toronto Argonauts
-- S Mark Perry, TCU
-- P Kyle Ostendorp, Arizona

That's a wrap on our 2024 big board/mock draft! How'd you do?

Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at abarth@985TheSportsHub.com.