Mike Reiss: Mike Vrabel and Eliot Wolf have shown they can come together
On Tuesday’s edition of Zolak & Bertrand, Mike Reiss of ESPN broke down his biggest takeaway from how the Patriots operated during the NFL Draft. Vrabel and Wolf work as…
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – FEBRUARY 25: Head coach Mike Vrabel of the New England Patriots speaks to the media during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center on February 25, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
On Tuesday's edition of Zolak & Bertrand, Mike Reiss of ESPN broke down his biggest takeaway from how the Patriots operated during the NFL Draft.
Vrabel and Wolf work as a 1-2
Mike Reiss:
The Vrabel, Wolf, new school, old school coming together. So if you were to say to me, two or three months ago, what happens after the draft with Eliot Wolf? You know, is this Mike Vrabal show? How is this all going to shake out? I would have said, I'm curious to know myself. After this draft, the way they approached it, watching them operate and talking to people involved in it, they were pretty good. They came together. So I think my first thought, big picture on the draft is, you have the new school of Mike Vrabel, Ryan Cowden, director of player personnel, John Stretch Streicher, Vrabels right-hand man. They come in, how do they mix with Eliot Wolf, Alonzo Highsmith, Matt Groh, Cameron Williams, the old group. Are they gonna just take them over and they get bumped out or do they work together? And I think now my biggest takeaway is this has a chance to work. That the two groups come together and Eliot Wolf keeps his position and they work together 1-2.
My second one, step back, like we can argue the picks, that's fun, that is a good part of this, but just look at the numbers, 11 draft picks, 17 undrafted free agents, 31% of the roster rookies. Your Patriots have gotten really, really young overnight. I think that's really interesting with what's happening down there. And then my third point is maybe a more of a critical one. A lot of praise for the draft Beetle. I heard you talking A pluses, all this. I wouldn't go that far.
There's one area that I think that they didn't address that would concern me and it's the quarterback position. What's the most important position in football? Quarterback. Look, we know about Drake Maye, that he visited that injury tent a couple times in different games and they're one hit away from Joshua Dobbs running this team for all the work they've done. If i had one nitpick, it would be getting a third quarterback in there, drafted maybe on that third day and you got an asset in Josh McDaniels who has a proven history developing young quarterbacks and i think they've sort of left themselves without an insurance policy at the game's most important position.
