On Thursday morning, New England Patriots de facto general manager Eliot Wolf held a press conference at Gillette Stadium, ahead of the NFL Draft which is just a week away. A member of the Patriots’ personnel staff holding a pre-draft press conference is an annual event, but this was the first time Wolf was the one speaking.
For most of the 20-minute Q&A, the conversation was dominated by the same topic(s) that have dominated discourse around the Patriots over the past few months – the ‘big three’ needs of quarterback, tackle, and wide receiver.
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While Wolf didn’t outright say those positions aren’t needs, he did say he feels people have underrated the Patriots’ offense as a whole. Asked if the team is in a position to ‘support’ a rookie quarterback, Wolf touted the current roster.
“We have NFL receivers, we have NFL tight ends, we have NFL running backs, we have NFL offensive linemen,” he said. “We feel good about where we are and we feel through free agency – on the offensive side in particular – that we’ve been able to supplement our roster properly so we’re not having to draft for need as much offensively.”
To be clear, that’s not saying the Patriots won’t draft offensive players. Rather, Wolf seems to believe the Patriots are in a position to target the best players from a range of needs, rather than lock themselves into certain positions at certain spots.
This even extended to quarterback. Wolf answered with a direct “no” when asked if quarterback “has to be” the Patriots’ top pick, either at third overall or after a trade down. In a follow up answer though, he did say the team would be comfortable drafting from the top group of quarterbacks, and suggested he believes there will be at least one quarterback sitting there at three worth using the third overall pick on.
The general takeaway from Wolf’s comments seemed to be that even a week out from the draft, all options remain open for the Patriots (Wolf even mentioned being “open for business” regarding trades).
Knowing that, let’s take a closer look at what he had to say about each of the three biggest needs.
Quarterbacks
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – NOVEMBER 11: Michael Penix Jr. #9 of the Washington Huskies passes against the Utah Utes during the second quarter at Husky Stadium on November 11, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
A week out, the Patriots haven’t finalized their quarterback board just yet. Asked if there is a consensus in the building about the group, Wolf said “we haven’t had that final conversation yet, but I do think there’s a general idea of how we feel about these players.”
At the same time, he did mention “all six of these quarterbacks that are kind of the top guys.” That’s up from the number Jerod Mayo gave at the NFL annual meetings, which was five. When Mayo made those comments the Patriots hadn’t yet met with Washington’s Michael Penix, but he did host him for a top-30 visit earlier this week.
The biggest revelation about the Patriots’ scouting process when it comes to quarterbacks regards age. It’s a wide age range among the top group, with Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy having just turned 21 in January while Penix will turn 24 after the draft. Age being a major factor to the Patriots – one way or the other – could limit their board.
However, that doesn’t seem to be the case. “We don’t really look at the age specifically, just more of the skill set,” Wolf said when asked if age is a consideration. “All of these guys have been coached well in college. Some longer than others, but, we feel like every individual situation is different.”
Along those same lines, Wolf was asked how the Patriots balance drafting a quarterback for the expected production in 2024 compared to future upside. “It’s a long term decision,” he replied. “We look at upside.”
Finally, Wolf reaffirmed his belief that the Patriots are ready to take a rookie quarterback. “We’re going to have the support that’s needed for that quarterback, if we draft one, whoever it is. We’re going to have a situation where they’re supported in every way possible to make them succeed.”
Wide receiver
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 22: Demario Douglas #81 of the New England Patriots carries the ball during a game against the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium on October 22, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Getty Images)
Wolf comes from a Packers program that has a great history of finding wide receiver talent, especially on Day 2 of the draft. On Thursday, he was asked how much of that success he can replicate in New England, after a lack of success drafting developing receivers in recent years.
“I think the Packers had good success – [longtime Packers GM] Ted Thompson was phenomenal at drafting receivers, identifying receivers in like the second and third round. Hopefully some of that rubs off on me, the things I’ve learned from him. I don’t think there’s any one thing that I can point to about why it hasn’t worked here or why it worked better there.”
With Kendrick Bourne and K.J. Osborn at the ‘Z’ and Pop Douglas in the slot, the Patriots specific need at wide receiver appears to be at the ‘X’ position. Wolf touched on that topic as well, and seemed to downplay the need.
“I think we have players that can can line up and play at ‘X’. Do we have players that on a three-by-one can beat the backside coverage every single time? I’m not sure we have that just yet. But we certainly have good receivers that we’re excited about working with. K.J. Osborn can play all three positions. We have Kendrick Bourne coming back. Pop, JuJu [Smith-Schuster], the list goes on. We we feel like we have NFL receivers.”
Wolf did confirm the Patriots have had conversations with teams “about different scenarios” in terms of trading for veteran wide receivers. He added that’s the case at multiple positions.
Offensive tackle
Oct 30, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor (76) against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Wolf reiterated something Mayo spoke about at the NFL annual meeting last month – that recently signed Chuks Okorafor is currently the favorite for the Patriots’ starting left tackle job. In six NFL seasons, Okorafor has played just two snaps at left tackle – one in 2020 and another in 2021. The vast majority of his snaps have come at right tackle (100 as a tackle-eligible tight end and one as a right guard).
“He played there in college. And so we went back and watched that film – obviously evaluated him when he was coming out – and he’s an athletic, big guy. So we feel like he can make that transition, or make that transition back to playing on the left,” Wolf said. He did add though that “that is probably more of a question for Coach Mayo.”
Overall though, Wolf sounded encouraged by the current group of offensive linemen the team has. “We have a solid offensive line,” he said. “We re-signed Mike Onwenu. We have David Andrews coming back. We have three rookies [Jake Andrews, Atonio Mafi, and Sidy Sow] that we drafted last year that are developing. We signed Okorafor from the Steelers”
Traditionally the Patriots would more often than not invest multiple picks each year in offensive linemen. Given they have so many other needs this year, that belief in the offensive line as a whole – especially the interior offensive linemen drafted last year – could mean they’ll be able to focus more on those other spots and use the depth they’ve already built up to get through this season. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t invest highly in a premium position of need like left tackle (they should), but the multiple Day 3 guards we typically see may not happen this year after last year’s focus on those spots.
Noticeably absent from Wolf’s rundown of the offensive line? 2022 first-round pick Cole Strange. Strange struggled early last year, and dealt with injuries throughout the season. There were flashes of first-round talent, but with a new front office and head coach in place who aren’t tied to his selection, his status bears watching once workouts begin.
