Eliot Wolf breaks down kinds of players Patriots seek at positions of need

When it comes to the NFL offseason, it can be easy to identify a team's needs. What can be tougher is identifying how the team will go about filling those needs.

That's as true now as it has ever been. With the NFL in the specialization age, just because two players are listed at the same position doesn't mean they have the same or even similar skillsets. For teams like the New England Patriots that recently had turnover in their front office it can be even tougher to tell, because there isn't as much of an established track record of the prototype of players the team prefers.

For those following along at home though, Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf may have given some help. During his NFL Combine media availability on Tuesday, Wolf didn't just mention some positions of need for the Patriots, but also added the kinds of skills and traits he looks for at those positions.

Of course Wolf isn't the whole front office, but this does shed a light on what the Patriots might prioritize between free agency and the draft. That helps inform which players specifically the team might be targeting.

Wolf didn't address every position of need for the Patriots, but did hit on multiple spots on both sides of the ball. Let's run through the spots he discussed.

There may be no bigger need for the Patriots this offseason than edge rusher. K'Lavon Chaisson is a pending free agent, and while Wolf said the team does expect Harold Landry to return in 2026 after playing through a knee injury that limited him for most of the 2025 season, there's no guarantee what the team will get out of him. The rest of the room is currently younger, rotational players who don't have full time experience.

Given all of that the Patriots should look to add at least one edge defender, with that number potentially jumping to two if Chaisson leaves. Luckily for the Patriots it's a good offseason to fill needs at that position, with strong classes in both free agency and the draft. Asked about the draft class specifically, Wolf noted on Tuesday that "I think it's a fairly deep class at that position. Obviously an area of need for our team. So it matches up nicely."

With so many players available, teams will have different types of players to choose from. Wolf highlighted what he specifically looks for at the position.

"Pass rush, speed and violence, explosiveness, first step quickness, the ability to win in multiple ways," Wolf said via Evan Lazar of Patriots.com. "You can't just be a run around the hoop guy at this level. There's some guys in college that are able to be successful that way, but you need different things in your toolbox. I think the guys that can rush with power are maybe more of a premium. The guys that are athletic and can rush with power. Everyone’s looking for pass rushers in the league."

The Patriots' safeties exceeded expectations last year, between Jaylinn Hawkins and rookie Craig Woodson. However the team doesn't have much depth behind the two to begin with, and Hawkins is a pending free agent.

Wolf said Hawkins "is certainly someone that we would welcome back," but even if he stays adding a safety who not only adds depth but can play a decent rotational role would help in a league that continues to find success with three-safety sets. If Hawkins leaves, finding another safety to play alongside Woodson should become among the top priorities.

In the past the Patriots generally had role-specific safeties like a deep safety and box safety. With Wolf, that approach is different.

"The safety position, they have to be able to do everything," Wolf said. "They have to be be able to play down in the box, man cover, tackle in space. Having guys that are interchangeable just kind of opens up a lot of different things for the defense that Zak Kuhr and Terrell Williams can employ."

Beyond what they do once the ball in snapped though, Wolf added the first thing he looks for is what safeties can do pre-snap.

"First thing you have to look at is - communication is so underrated at that position. I think maybe a lot of fans don't understand that. Being able to communicate, set the defense, that's something that we talked to the coaching staffs in college about, and just making sure that - anyone that comes in has to be able to communicate and be smart," Wolf said. He then added "but on the field it's the athleticism, it's the change of direction, it's the speed and range. The anticipation that these guys play with are very important traits that we look for."

The Patriots should have the top of their running back depth chart taken care of with Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson. But, as evidenced last year, it's a position where you can't have enough depth and that third spot can be called on early and often. With the release of Antonio Gibson that's a spot that is up for grabs,

Spending big at running back again this year after taking Henderson in the second round last year might not be necessary, but either a smaller-money free agent or late draft pick could make sense to add to the positional battle. So, what kinds of traits does Wolf look for with his running backs?

I'm a big fan of guys that run hard, guys that can really hit the hole with force and burst through," Wolf said on Tuesday. "I know there's a lot of different running styles, a lot of people that have different varying levels of success, but to me, the guys that can really attack the hole and put pressure on the defense are valuable."

Wolf also specifically mentioned wide receivers and tackles during his Tuesday availability. While he didn't get into specific traits at those spots, he did give some indication into how the team views those needs.

When talking about receivers, Wolf specifically used the term "playmakers." He went on to discuss adding at all levels of the depth chart.

"You could look at it from from a couple different ways there. Like obviously having more playmakers is a good thing," Wolf said when asked if the offense would be helped by having more of a 'true go-to guy.' "So yes, we are looking at at the wide receiver position to to try to improve depth and you know at the top as well."

Talking about tackles Wolf, like head coach Mike Vrabel earlier this year, said the team does not plan on moving Will Campbell from the left tackle spot. From there though, he acknowledged there are needs at the position.

“Is offensive tackle a need? Vederian [Lowe’s] a free agent. Thayer [Munford] is a free agent and Morgan is 35 years old,” Wolf said. “He played awesome this year, but he’s 35 years old. So, tackle would be a need for our team.”

Finally, Wolf mentioned linebacker as a position of need. He noted this is something the team would like to address in the draft, to add to the room they already have built.

"We'd like to to maybe address that in the draft. It looks like a good year at linebacker as well. But we are happy with the group that we have," Wolf said. "It's an area where we have a lot of kind of different pieces and the defensive staff was able to try to maximize that for us."