On Tuesday, Patriots director of player personnel Matt Groh spoke with reporters at Gillette Stadium in his annual pre-draft press conference. As the director of player personnel, Groh is the second-highest ranking personnel decision maker in the Patriots' front office, behind only general manager (and head coach) Bill Belichick. In that role, Groh has significant influence over what the Patriots' 2023 draft class will ultimately look like.

While Groh hardly was tipping the Patriots' picks during his 20 minute media availability, he did touch on his general thoughts on the players available at what have become the 'big three' positions of need for the Patriots in this year's draft - cornerback, offensive tackle, and wide receiver. Let's take a look at what he said about each position, then see what we can figure out about the Patriots' draft strategy from that.

When it comes to cornerbacks, Groh was asked if he believes there are any cornerbacks in this class who can 'replicate' the success of Sauce Gardner, who was drafted 4th overall last year and won Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Groh: "I don't think any of those guys are probably trying to go into the draft to be Sauce. But you've got some longer guys. You've got some tough, competitive guys. I I'm not going to speak on what the Jets think of Sauce but obviously going against them twice a year - he was drafted really high to be a good player and he was a really good player for them. So there'll be some guys, who are who are looking at going probably around where Sauce went and hopefully they can come in and have that kind of impact for their teams."

Quick analysis: In general, experts are high on this cornerback class - both at the top of the draft as well as the depth. That being said, with the sheer depth of talent in this class the belief was teams wouldn't rush to draft at the position, knowing there will be players with first-round talent on the board potentially well into the second round. He mentions "some guys" - indicating plurality - going "around where Sauce went," i.e. the top five-to-ten picks.

To this point none of the three top cornerbacks - Christian Gonzalez from Oregon, Devon Witherspoon from Illinois, and Joey Porter Jr. from Penn State - have reached consensus top three status in the media. The general belief has been at least one of the three will go in the top ten with little clarity on which, and the Patriots likely would have the ability to draft one of the three with the 14th pick, although which of the three would be the one to fall in such a scenario has varied depending on the evaluations.

While that's what draft experts believe, do teams see it differently? Groh seemed to suggest that's the case. Plus, with new reports coming out that the Texans may not be in the market for a quarterback with the second-overall pick, that could open up another spot for a cornerback in the top five, and create a run on the position earlier than anticipated.

Instead of addressing the players available in the draft, Groh was asked to give his assessment of the team's current group of tackles.

Groh: "We were able to add a couple players (Riley Reiff, Calvin Anderson), able to retain a couple of players (Conor McDermott, Yodny Cajuste), and have one hold over (Trent Brown). So we've got some good veteran guys there. A little bit of versatility - left side, right side. the question gets asked, 'what's a left tackle with the right tackle?' They've got to block the same guys. Defense doesn't tell us where they're going to line their guys up. There's certainly a type you're looking for on the left and a type you look for on the right. But schematically, they've got to block the same guys, whether it's [pass] protection or the run game. Got some good guys there. Looking forward to working with them. See what we got in some of these new guys and go from there."

Quick analysis: First off, it seems as though the team is set on moving on from 2019 first-round pick Isaiah Wynn, who remains a free agent. Parting ways with Wynn has been expected, but Groh seeming set in the veteran tackle group being what it is is another major clue (they also re-issued Wynn's No. 76 to Anderson this week). Groh's comments about versatility also stand out given three of the five tackles at the top of the depth chart - Reiff, Anderson, and Brown - all project as players that can play on either side. There are also a number of positionally-versatile tackles towards the top of the draft such as Paris Johnson and Dawand Jones from Ohio State, and Darnell Wright from Tennessee.

Finally, we get to the position the Patriots have been chasing for what feels like an eternity. After back-to-back-to-back stacked draft classes at wide receiver, this year is viewed as a 'down year' at the position. Four wideouts are projected to go in the first round, after six went in the first 2022, five in 2021, and six in 2020. So, what does Groh think of that first-round group, which includes Jaxon Smith-Njigba from Ohio State, Zay Flowers from Boston College, Jordan Addison from USC, and Quentin Johnston from TCU?

Groh: "It only it only takes one. So only takes one team to say, Hey, we need a wide receiver and one goes and then somebody else says, Well, hey, we better go get one too. So, you know, there's a little bit different flavor between guys like Zay to, you know, some of the bigger, longer guys. And we've worked really hard to try and get everywhere and get eyes on these guys. Cam Williams and the scouting staff have done a really good job. And across the, you know, a lot of miles, too, to see all these different players. So, look, I think if you're looking for a guy, it's not just a first round guy. There's a lot of good wide receivers in this draft and there's a lot of good wide receivers in this league that weren't just first round picks. So you can find these guys, you know, throughout the draft. Obviously if you're taking one on in the first round there have some conviction about."

Quick analysis: This is a noticeable change of tone from the way Groh talked about wide receivers last year. In last year's pre-draft presser, when talking about what goes into adding a play-making receiver, Groh told reporters "wherever teams can add an instant impact player, which is what these wide receivers are in the game today, they’re going to do it. You can’t just sit around and wait and hope to get one of these guys in the draft. You’ve got to be proactive about going to go get one of them."

Granted, the situation is different this year. The projected first-round picks in the 2023 class aren't at the level of those in 2022 (the top receiver in this class would probably be the fourth or fifth wide receiver off the board last year), and the gap between the first round and the rest of the class is much smaller. That doesn't mean they won't take a wideout with a premium, top 100 pick, but it does suggest they make look elsewhere at 14.

What can we ascertain about the Patriots' draft strategy based off what Groh said on Tuesday? Taking his comments at face value (there's always a chance for misdirection or a 'smokescreen' of course - which, if you believe that's what it is, just assume the exact opposite of everything below), we can make some assumptions about the plans for the 14th pick.

Again, when asked about the top of the wide receiver class, Groh pivoted to talking about the rest of the board. That could mean they're comfortable waiting until Day 2 to take a wideout or later.

However, if they do take a wideout, Flowers is worth watching as much as anybody. Asked specifically about the BC receiver on Tuesday and whether he's a boundary or slot player, Groh said, "depending on the offense, you've got to be able to move these guys around. Especially a player like Zay that can do a lot of things. It's easy to pigeonhole these guys...but it was 4.42 [second 40-yard dash] maybe Zay ran at the Combine. So, talking about a pretty fast guy here, too, who can also stretch the field vertically from the outside. I don't think Zay would want to be typecast as an inside or outside guy, so I just say he's a really good wide receiver."

But going off of the original quote and assuming wide receiver is 'out' at 14, then what? Many may pivot to tackle. Again though, Groh's comments make it seem as though they're ready to work with the tackle group they have right now. Like at receiver, that may not preclude them from taking a player at the position later in the draft. But, with the experience and versatility of they players on the roster they might be in the mindset of trying to make it work with what they have early on, allowing them to draft a more developmental player with a lower floor.

That leaves cornerback among the three big needs. Groh seems to be very high on this class, especially at the top. If he truly believes multiple cornerbacks could go in the top five-to-ten picks, and that doesn't end up happening, it would set up the Patriots to take a player they have graded above their draft slot at a position of need.

Of course they could go off the beaten path with the pick too. As Groh noted on Tuesday when asked about the team retaining every pending defensive free agent aside from Devin McCourty, "we're constantly evaluating every position...we've got to try and improve in every way." Going off prior reports, 'sleeper' positions to consider in the first round are edge rusher and running back.

There's also always the chance the Patriots trade back, especially if all three top cornerbacks go early. If that's the situation they find themselves in, they feel prepared, according to Groh.

"We were [pick] 15 two years ago, so got some experience kind of there," he explained. "Look, every draft's different and one position - there's some guys there and then there might be a little bit more interest and people looking to come up. But 14, we have a pretty good idea of what the interest is on being able to come up or being able to move back and what caliber player's right there from just a couple of years ago."

Ultimately the draft process is much more than just one press conference, and there's still more than a week to go so things can change between now and when the Patriots are on the clock. That being said, This is as much concrete information on the draft strategy we'll get from those who will actually be in the room making the call, so of course we're going to pick it apart.

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.