The New England Patriots have undergone extensive and controversial offseason changes in the past two months. As they head toward a more traditional structure, Eliot Wolf addressed the media today for the first time. He all but confirmed that he is acting as the de facto GM. It has been confirmed that he sat in for all the interviews of the coordinators and assistant coaches, and by his admission this morning, he will have the final say in the draft decisions. His official title is still labeled as director of pro-personnel, but he handles most of the traditional general manager tasks. In his first media meeting, he had some interesting things to say about the state of the Patriots roster and highly discussed pursuit of a QB.
Let's dive into the quarterback talk that everyone's eager to hear. Wolf confirmed that the Patriots will meet with Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Jayden Daniels this week. His first quote was “It's a really good year for quarterbacks. ... we'll determine what's best." Furthermore, he offered insight into what the Patriots could be seeking in a QB: "First of all, someone who can elevate his teammates. Someone your teammates want to play for... and obviously, physical talent." "Body language on the field is crucial at that position. You don’t want a guy throwing his hands up after a bad play or visibly pointing at someone." This will be music to some fans' ears, who have voiced dissatisfaction with the body language from the Patriots' QB room. Most importantly, Wolf emphasized physical talent, something the Patriots have lacked in recent seasons. Both Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe are physically limited QBs, neither possessing an exceptionally powerful arm, game-changing athleticism, or heroic play-making capabilities. Wolf also added: "When you look throughout the league, most of the quarterbacks are first-rounders...I think the league-wide understanding of how important that position is and how important it is to have somebody there that can help you win games and get over the hump has changed league-wide." These quotes could foreshadow how the Patriots might approach the top of the upcoming draft.
Wolf also discussed the teams most important impending free agents, guard Michael Onwenu and safety Kyle Dugger, expressing a desire to keep both players and leaving the franchise tag "on the table".
Wolf continued his emphasis on the team becoming more explosive, on all sides of the ball: "We need to weaponize the offense. We need to be faster and more explosive on defense. Height, weight, speed, playmaking ability, there will definitely be an emphasis on those things." He also expressed that the team will be aggressive in free agency.
Wolf made some comments about the new approach to player grading and the expected culture shift. "We changed the grading system. It's a little bit more similar to what we did in Green Bay. The previous Patriots system was more 'this is what the role is' and this is more kind of value-based. I think it makes it a lot easier for scouts to rate guys and put them in a stack of 'this guy's the best, this guy is the worst, and everything in between falls into place.' Rather than sort of more nuanced approaches. I just think it accounts value better and also makes it easier for the scouts - in the fall and spring - to determine where guys will get drafted. ... "To me, it's a little bit less about the grading scale and more about the process that we put in place. This process is a lot more collaborative. We hear from the scouts more. We're going to be able to determine, together, what is the best thing for the team at the end of the day."
On the culture front, he said he there will be less of a "hard-ass vibe" with the new regime.
Wolf offered some insight into what they learned from the Mac Jones experiment: "The main thing is just trying to do everything we can to support that person once they get in the building. We’re going to make the best decision we can in terms of who that person is – if we decide to go quarterback at 3."
Finally, after an off season plagued with controversy regarding the firing of legendary head coach Bill Belichick, Wolf told the media that the Kraft's have stayed out football operations.
That encapsulates the first meeting with Eliot Wolf and the media in the Patriots era. If nothing else, Wolf is following the trend of being more transparent with the media regarding the team's plans and how the Patriots will look moving forward. That being said, football is a results based business and they have to prove it through their actions in free agency and the draft. We will soon discover just how committed they are to revitalizing this organization and returning to winning ways. The Patriots are on the clock.
Featured photo courtesy of the New England Patriots.
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