PATRIOTS NEWS Breer: Eliot Wolf will stay. Relationship between Wolf and Vrabel worked from the start

[maust]

Well he used to talk to people with the Patriots other than Elliot Wolf, too.

Who can forget how many different ways he got BB to say "We're on to Cincinnati"?
That alone was worth a niche spot in this curmudgeons heart although it's all been pretty much straight into the crapper since

 

[mike_usagisan]

Who knows the truth.

Could definitely see a scenario where Wolf saw Mayo yanked after a year and realized if he didn't want to be fired and find himself auditioning for a job with the Jets that he started from an absolutely deferential standpoint to whatever Vrabel wanted.

Or he was of this mindset of working with the coach all along and got guys that Mayo liked who have yet to or may never pan out.

I give Wolf the benefit of the doubt that he's a team player and wants to help Vrabel succeed by finding the right guys for Vrabel's system. I don't get the impression that he's pulling a Brandon Beane.

 

[Ross12]

Cowden will get promoted first.

This whole thing is set up for Wolf to get 'poached'. Thanks to Bert Breer for his usual "reporting".

I could see Wolf leave for a “real” GM job where he runs the complete operation, and then Cowden takes Wolf’s EVP job. Probably in a couple years.

 

[Toofy]

Who is going to hire wolf after what happened with our 2024 draft .

If we promote cowden and allow wolf to seek greener pastures then what does it say to the outer world about wolf and the work he did here . It will look like cowden was the key guy and pats don't want to make him . Only option for wolf would be to go to a loser org with a so and so coach and very poor operations like what happened with Mayo and see his career come to a halting stop.

If I were wolf , I would stick here for next 3 years, make sure I don't antogonize Vrabel / cowden, be a good collaborative partner and build the roster such that they win a ring or two in next 4 years excluding this year and have a really well rounded talent pool .

 

[Zuma]

You have to determine the depth chart by some metric. I like playing time as the metric, but Diggs is WR #1 and Hollins consistently has more snaps, so maybe the metric should be average receptions per game or total receiving yards. I might look at playing time more, you might look at total receiving yards more?

It does not appear Chism passed Douglas on the Depth chart with his 3 receptions...

 

[Huckleberry1]

Personally I think the marriage works well. Wolf is a scout at heart and he is good at finding talent - he is just not good in "crunch time" (free agency, stacking the board, draft day trades, etc). This is where Cowden was a huge boon. Cowden + Wolf combined are a dynamite combination, but I'd be concerned if Cowden leaves for a promotion...

I disagree with this to some extent. I give Wolf credit for their new scouting evaluation system, and setting up their draft board, I'm not sure how much he had to do with free agency, and give Vrabel and Cowden more credit for their free agent signings. Elliot Wolf isn't his father, who operated as GM in Green Bay by picking the players and having the coach run the team. I think Elliot Wolf operates by getting the coach the players they want, which failed with Mayo, other than the Maye pick, but worked perfectly with Vrabel. I think Vrabel came in with a very clear vision of the players he wanted to build with, and that clarity allowed Wolf to really narrow down who they were looking at in the draft, and set their board up with that criteria in mind. I think they knew they were taking both Campbell and Henderson if he was there, and after that they had short lists of players for each round, and every player was signed off on by Vrabel. I think the entire braintrust ( Vrabel, Wolf, Cowden, and Streicher) were active in the discussions draft weekend, but ultimately Vrabel had final say, I think Vrabel also had final say on all free agents.

I don't think Wolf ever would have been successful with Mayo at head coach. Mayo never had any clarity on how to build a program and I think Wolf needed that clarity to bring in the players to build a program that would succeed. I also don't believe that Mayo had the slightest idea on how to develop players, which is critical to long term success. Vrabel and Co. understand how to coach and develop players, and that will lead to much higher success rates with their young players.

As far as Cowden goes I think Kraft should talk to Wolf and get him to go along with making Cowden the GM. Everyone knows Vrabel has final say, but they could give that status to Cowden to keep other teams away from him, while maintaining the front office structure they already have.

 

[Huckleberry1]

I could see Wolf leave for a “real” GM job where he runs the complete operation, and then Cowden takes Wolf’s EVP job. Probably in a couple years.

I don't. I think Wolf is the opposite of that kind of GM. I think the set up they have here is exactly the kind of system that works best for him

 

[mike_usagisan]

I don't. I think Wolf is the opposite of that kind of GM. I think the set up they have here is exactly the kind of system that works best for him

I think Wolf is happy to stay and be part of the team. The question is how ambitious is Cowden? Is it important for him to be the GM? Or is he fine being a team player?

 

[Huckleberry1]

I think Wolf is happy to stay and be part of the team. The question is how ambitious is Cowden? Is it important for him to be the GM? Or is he fine being a team player?

I think Cowden wants to be a GM, and although I like the idea of making him the GM here I think he really wants to have his own team

 

[mike_usagisan]

I think Cowden wants to be a GM, and although I like the idea of making him the GM here I think he really wants to have his own team

I think this is probably right. Whereas I think Wolf is happy to stay forever.

 

[Huckleberry1]

He was wrong on all of the picks past the 1st round in 2024.

If Wolf was operating with Mayo the same way he operated with Vrabel then he was going after the guys the head coach wanted, and that would definitely explain why the draft was so bad, as Mayo had absolutely no idea of what he wanted to build. Vrabel on the other hand had a very clear idea of the kind of players he wanted, which made Wolf's job exponentially easier.

 

[upstater1]

If Wolf was operating with Mayo the same way he operated with Vrabel then he was going after the guys the head coach wanted, and that would definitely explain why the draft was so bad, as Mayo had absolutely no idea of what he wanted to build. Vrabel on the other hand had a very clear idea of the kind of players he wanted, which made Wolf's job exponentially easier.

We're really going to have to revisit this year's "great" draft in a couple years.

A month in, every pick looked great.

Yet there is a future in which we are not happy about the drafting of Campbell, Henderson, Kyle Williams and Jared Wilson. Is it that hard to imagine?

I still have a lot of belief in Campbell and think he will develop, BUT if I had to do it all over again, YES, I would take Tet McMillan instead of him. Then trade up for Josh Simmons.

I am really concerned and not feeling great about picks 2-4.

 

[TommyD4207]

We're really going to have to revisit this year's "great" draft in a couple years.

A month in, every pick looked great.

Yet there is a future in which we are not happy about the drafting of Campbell, Henderson, Kyle Williams and Jared Wilson. Is it that hard to imagine?

I still have a lot of belief in Campbell and think he will develop, BUT if I had to do it all over again, YES, I would take Tet McMillan instead of him. Then trade up for Josh Simmons.

I am really concerned and not feeling great about picks 2-4.

Woodson played like a top-10 safety in the playoffs, that makes him a homerun pick.
Henderson had 1100 yards from scrimmage, another homerun.

 

[Steve102]

Woodson played like a top-10 safety in the playoffs, that makes him a homerun pick.
Henderson had 1100 yards from scrimmage, another homerun.

That 2025 is a winner. Don't listen to the noise.

 

[TheRainMaker]

We're really going to have to revisit this year's "great" draft in a couple years.

A month in, every pick looked great.

Yet there is a future in which we are not happy about the drafting of Campbell, Henderson, Kyle Williams and Jared Wilson. Is it that hard to imagine?

I still have a lot of belief in Campbell and think he will develop, BUT if I had to do it all over again, YES, I would take Tet McMillan instead of him. Then trade up for Josh Simmons.

I am really concerned and not feeling great about picks 2-4.

Campbell was the right pick at the time even though he didn't really wow any of us. The Pats have gotten burned too many times on the trade down routine, so it was time to just pick someone in the original draft slot. Campbell was okay as a rookie until he got injured. He was absolutely awful when he returned for the playoffs. I want to see him stronger at the point of attack. Before his injury, was a getting pushed back, but he would recover and eventually stop the push. I want him to get better at that.

Tet was talked about here a ton, but he had separation questions and it would've been crippling had the Pats taken another bust at WR when LT was a dire need.

Simmons was pretty mediocre.

Henderson was an excellent pick.

I'm concerned about Williams. If he doesn't make a major jump in year 2, he probably never will.

Wilson needs to sit a year. I expect veteran signings at both C and G.

 

[upstater1]

Woodson played like a top-10 safety in the playoffs, that makes him a homerun pick.
Henderson had 1100 yards from scrimmage, another homerun.

Henderson hardly played in the playoffs because he looked tentative and scared. I was greatly disappointed in him.

I share the sense that Woodson looks good so far. Top 10 safeties? That's going way way overboard, IMO.

Look even among the rookies, Woodson was not at the top of the heap. He was in the mix, but there were so many good ones out there.

Even guys picked in the Woodson vicinity looked very good, like the guy who made the All-Rookie team, Jonas Sanker. I'm not even referring to the guys who went early like Emmanwori and Starks. I'm talking about Kevin Winston, Xavier Watts, Billy Bowman, Lathan Ransom & Malachi Moore. You could argue this was the greatest safety class in NFL history.

 

[upstater1]

Campbell was the right pick at the time even though he didn't really wow any of us. The Pats have gotten burned too many times on the trade down routine, so it was time to just pick someone in the original draft slot. Campbell was okay as a rookie until he got injured. He was absolutely awful when he returned for the playoffs. I want to see him stronger at the point of attack. Before his injury, was a getting pushed back, but he would recover and eventually stop the push. I want him to get better at that.

Tet was talked about here a ton, but he had separation questions and it would've been crippling had the Pats taken another bust at WR when LT was a dire need.

Simmons was pretty mediocre.

Henderson was an excellent pick.

I'm concerned about Williams. If he doesn't make a major jump in year 2, he probably never will.

Wilson needs to sit a year. I expect veteran signings at both C and G.

People are a lot higher on Henderson than I am.

I saw a guy who could not find a hole to run through.

As a rookie, Rham was so much better. Henderson hit some big plays... but those were really breakdowns you can't rely on .

 

[p8ryts]

The organization got a lot of praise for the 2025 draft. Is it appropriate to give it another look considering it seems Woodson, Borregales and Ashby may have been the most effective members of the draft. Not saying Campbell, Henderson and Wilson can't turn out good in year 2 but the haul seems a little tarnished now.

 

[TommyD4207]

The organization got a lot of praise for the 2025 draft. Is it appropriate to give it another look considering it seems Woodson, Borregales and Ashby may have been the most effective members of the draft. Not saying Campbell, Henderson and Wilson can't turn out good in year 2 but the haul seems a little tarnished now.

Wilson is literally the only pick that doesn't come out 'solid' or 'home run' from that draft.

 

[Huckleberry1]

I could see Wolf leave for a “real” GM job where he runs the complete operation, and then Cowden takes Wolf’s EVP job. Probably in a couple years.

I don't see that. I think Wolf prefers being part of a front office team over running everything. Only time will tell which is true.