My Scouting Report After a Predraft Visit With Patriots GM Eliot Wolf
Here's further proof - as if anyone needs it - of my dedication to my craft. Here it is, a nice Thursday in mid-April where I could be back at Stately Thornton Manor, enjoying my life of wealth and privilege, managing my affairs, and otherwise enjoying myself in the lap of luxury. But not today. Today was all about serving the public. About self sacrifice. Leaving my quiet seaside community to drive an hour to Foxboro because Draft Season is upon us.
And it's a Draft Season unlike any other. With a new regime. A new head coach. A new GM. And presumably, an entirely new approach. So I would be derelict in my duty if I didn't make the trip to give my assessment of Ron Wolf on the day of his predraft press conference. I do and do and do for you kids, and I ask nothing for myself.
My first reaction when Wolf took the podium after 20-some odd years of doing this was pretty much what you'd expect:
It was surreal to have someone at the mic other than the strong-willed, demanding, brilliant taskmaster who'd dominated the room for a quarter century. The whole atmosphere in the place was perceptibly different. Not quite like having a substitute teacher; there was none of that chaos. But more like when Harry Potter would go from Snapes' Potions class to Professor Lupin's Defense Against the Dark Arts. Just a whole more relaxed, convivial vibe where you knew that no matter how lousy your question, you weren't going to get passive/aggressively humiliated for it.
As someone who truly, deeply enjoyed the social awkwardness of the way it used to be done, this took some major adjusting on my part.
The thing about Wolf though, is that while this is his first time as the Alpha dog, he's no rookie. He's a legacy. The son of the guy who ran the Packers forever. So he's been trained on how to answer questions without actually giving answers. Not giving away proprietary information or exposing state secrets at least. He's more deft when it comes to giving evasive non-answers than his precedessor. And peppered the conversation with more "That's a good question"s than we heard over the last 24 years combined.
All that said, I didn't come all this way just to learn about style. I burned all that fuel for substance. To try to determine what this franchise's direction is going forward. And decipher to the best of my considerable ability what the game plan is for the draft a week from tonight. Here's what I came away with:
Trades
Right out of the gate, with the first question, Wolf declared "We are open for business." Trading up. Trading down. In Round 1. In every round. Trader Ron is ready to deal. Which would of course be interesting even if I hadn't heard from a media guy who has talked to a guy who confirmed for him the Vikings have offered both their 1st rounders (11 and 23) plus their 1st next year. But if that 2025 pick gets replaced with Justin Jefferson, we might be looking at a history-making transaction. Stay tuned.
Quarterback
While never giving away the details of who they plan to take or what traits they value at the position, Wolf confirmed that any of the group of Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye or JJ McCarthy would be acceptable. And he feels the same way about other QB prospects, though he didn't name names. The process for evaluating the position is, as you'd figure, their game film. And the ages of the various prospects will not be a factor in the evaluation process. But he said they get a lot out of the visits they've conducted. From the way these guys carry themselves. How they act around other people in the building. And says he gets the most value out of the Pro Day visits, where they get to talk to a guy's teammates and find out how they respond to questions about their quarterback. While characterizing this draft, with potentially four QBs coming off the board in the first four picks as "a unique year." And yet for all of this, he flat out refused to rule out going with another position with the No. 3 pick.
The Process
As far as the decision-making, there was quite a bit of talk about "consensus." Which you always hear people say but I've never actually seen exist anywhere at anytime in any of my professional endeavors. Which is why the old system worked so well for so long. The Pats used to be run by an all-powerful Dictator with a very small council of trusted advisors. One consisting entirely of Ernie Adams. What Wolf described isn't a full on Parliamentary Democracy; it's more of an Oligarchy. With himself, Jerod Mayo, and the coordinators making the calls. What he described as "the true decision makers." And while with that No. 3 pick they don't have to work out too many variables, he insists they haven't "had that final conversation yet" on what they'll ultimately do with it.
Wide Receivers
It should come as no surprise that the topic of wideouts came up a lot. Wolf did mention the record of success the Packers had at the position while he was there. But as far as the Patriots many failed attempts? Much like the rest of us, he's damned if he can explain it. As far as his current wide receiver room, he made a rather frank admission that they lack a true X-receiver who can consistently play on the back side of a 3X1 and reliably defeat coverage. While defending KJ Osborne, Kendrick Bourn and Pop Douglas and insisting the world is underrating them. At the risk of sounding like I don't believe him, a true X is still the second biggest priority in this draft. A close third would be:
Left Tackle
Doing the old "If the season were to begin today" mental exercise, your current starting left tackle is Chukwuma Okarafor, the veteran swing tackle they signed after he was released by the Steelers after six seasons. On a related note, the season does not, in fact, begin for another 5 1/2 months.
The Current Roster
In the least surprising development of all, Ron Wolf had praise for the job Ron Wolf has done this offseason. (OK, I'll admit this is a dickish way for me to phrase this. He's done nothing to deserve my shade. But to be fair to me, my old loyalty ran deep and I'm struggling to adjust to a new guy.) Specifically, he characterizes the minor additions the Pats made in free agency as "supplemented the roster," and making it so they won't have to draft for need, but for talent. A cynical man would point out there is still $53 million of cap room available for further supplementation. But I don't want to be that guy. Besides, there are still [checks notes] 5 1/2 months to go before "The season is starting today" time. Now is all about making a huge haul in perhaps most signficant draft this franchise has had in its history.
So while this was a quality way to start, so far it's all just talk. Starting a week from tonight and over the two days that follow, we'll have a better idea of whether or not he can deliver and if the change at the top was worth it.
Let's hope it was.