If this draft is the work of Eliot Wolf’s grading system then

[TheRainMaker]

This draft will either get Wolf fired or land him a fat contract extension.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

I actually gave him credit for admitting he wasn’t organized enough for the UDFA process, I like people who can think critically, acknowledge their mistakes, and then work to fix them. And I think Wolf was much better off working with Vrabel, Cowden, and Streicher, than he was running the show on his own last year. If they can keep this group together for the next 2-3 years I believe they will have a championship caliber organization and team.

Agree 100% - seems to be a highly effective team in the FO now.

 

[rkarp1]

I don't think Bill forgot what good football players look like.
my beef has always been, as he aged, was he able to be as thorough as he once had been, and, did the players he chose get the proper coaching, and did they play in the perfect scheme for them?
as Bill started to lose staff, we saw his draft picks fail. connected imo.

 

[Thelonious]

She seems very fond of that Sousaphone.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

Mayo on the other hand had no clue. clearly in over his head

I think that Mayo had no power and someone else, Bob Kraft I suspect, made the picks. It was like the old Bobby Grier / Bob Kraft days. Mayo was not given a chance and was handed a disastrous roster; as I said after the draft last year (look it up if you don't believe me), Mayo was a Dead Man Walking, even before training camp.

 

[mgteich]

This draft will either get Wolf fired or land him a fat contract extension.

If Wolf gets a fat extension, folks here will simply criticize Kraft for not knowing what he's doing.

 

[BobDigital]

I don't know what to think of him yet. Only 43 and last year was his first time in the big chair. A first time GM and first time HC. Clearly that was an issue.

As for if he can grow into the role we will see. Clearly he had a limit to his input with BB and Not enough support with Mayo. Hopefully this draft is a sign of things to come.

 

[TommyD4207]

If Wolf gets a fat extension, folks here will simply criticize Kraft for not knowing what he's doing.

Cowden/Vrabel/Highsmith

Wolf's getting credit he doesn't deserve. I guess that's fine, maybe some team will be dumb enough to pay him a ton of money.

 

[Mike the Brit]

If Wolf gets a fat extension, folks here will simply criticize Kraft for not knowing what he's doing.

Absolutely.

If you've ever worked for a large organization, you'll know that the worst thing is the people in it who "manage upwards": present themselves to their boss as responsible for any successes while blaming failures on others.

Someone who fires Mayo after one season but gives a fat extension to the guy who had a terrible draft in '24, a worse free agency, and was largely responsible for recruiting last season's lousy assistant coaches, doesn't know what he's doing.

Of course, I hope that this will be a good draft. The fact that the Patriots have written off the '24 draft class, Drake Maye excepted -- signed replacements for Polk, Baker, Robinson and Wallace, while shipping out Milton -- looks like a clear sign that a new regime is at work.

If you think of this draft as a vindication of Eliot Wolf you have a defective ******** detector shield.

 

[Huckleberry1]

Cowden/Vrabel/Highsmith

Wolf's getting credit he doesn't deserve. I guess that's fine, maybe some team will be dumb enough to pay him a ton of money.

Disagree completely. Wolf’s the one who instituted the player grading system they used for this draft. And although I will give Vrabel the ultimate credit for the players they took, because he made the final decisions, I believe Wolf’s input was integral to the process they used, especially the patience they showed an allowing their guys to come to them. He knew where players were going to end up going, and that allowed them to stay put and still get their guys.

I realize there is a ton of hate for Wolf on this board, but if they have another offseason and draft like this next year then it will be clear what the problem was in the prior “ collaboration.” I think this year was a true collaboration, and if you listened to the Cowden press conference he made it clear that this draft processs started 18 months ago, and they have only been there 3 months, so the role Wolf and his scouting and grading system played had to be significant for it to have worked.

 

[mayoclinic]

I don't think it has to be all one guy, or black vs. white. I think if Wolf has skills in player evaluation and grading that can be used effectively in collaboration with Vrabel/Bowden, that's a great thing. Time will tell how this group works out, and whether this was a one shot wonder.

Even for the best (Ravens, Eagles, Chiefs), not all drafts work put equally well. But when you can string a couple of good drafts/offseasons together you become a contender pretty quickly, and the converse also applies, as we learned all too well.

 

[TheRainMaker]

If Wolf gets a fat extension, folks here will simply criticize Kraft for not knowing what he's doing.

I guarantee you Wolf will get an extension if Maye has a breakout season making the playoffs and/or the current draft has 1-2 impact players.

 

[Bill Lee]

I guarantee you Wolf will get an extension if Maye has a breakout season making the playoffs and/or the current draft has 1-2 impact players.

Guarantee feels strong. Vrabel has to know who did what behind the scenes. If it was just him and Cowden doing the work and Wolf was either just there for the optics or was in fact an obstacle then IMO Wolf's gone. If it turns out that it is as some suggests Wolf was consumed by managing/mentoring Mayo last season and now he does play an important role in Vrabel's eyes, he'll be extended.

 

[1960Pats]

Steve Smith saying Williams reminds him of him is all I need. That’s exactly the kind of player you want on your team. Make your opponents have to “ ICE UP.”

I know nothing about college players and Smith had me high on Polk last year with the same type of comment.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Guarantee feels strong. Vrabel has to know who did what behind the scenes. If it was just him and Cowden doing the work and Wolf was either just there for the optics or was in fact an obstacle then IMO Wolf's gone. If it turns out that it is as some suggests Wolf was consumed by managing/mentoring Mayo last season and now he does play an important role in Vrabel's eyes, he'll be extended.

My predication was assuming Wolf was heavily involved. If not, then that's off the table.

 

[TheRainMaker]

I don't think Bill forgot what good football players look like.
my beef has always been, as he aged, was he able to be as thorough as he once had been, and, did the players he chose get the proper coaching, and did they play in the perfect scheme for them?
as Bill started to lose staff, we saw his draft picks fail. connected imo.

I'm not sure what this currently has to do with Bill.

 

[Triumph]

If Wolf gets a fat extension, folks here will simply criticize Kraft for not knowing what he's doing.

Kraft is damn lucky that Mayo went quietly after Bob bent him over.

And, that Vrabel was available to step in. Today, it looks like the Pats had a real good draft. The fact that Vrabel and Cowden were here put pressure on Wolf and Groh to get their act together.

 

[1960Pats]

I blended the thoughts and didn't add a sentence.

The NEP typically picked low in drafts but when the did pick, they also reached often

Easley and Ras-I had top end talent but fell on boards because of medical concerns.

Same as Gronk. Don't you love it when it works out like that?

 

[patfanken]

When a new coach comes in, if the old GM isn't fired with him, they usually stay at least through the draft process, because the GM's staff have been working on it for months. Sometime the "old GM" (Wolfe in this case) stays on and meshes with the new HC (Vrabel). We just have to see how things work out as the rest of the season moves on. No one will be shocked either way it works out.

But here's the thing. If you are going to blame Wolfe for the 2024 draft after the first round, you HAVE to give him credit IF the 2025 pans out like we hope it will.

The thing is we won't know how EITHER draft will be finally graded for another 2-3 years. Maye looks like he's a winner, but he was a no-brainer pick both for talent AND need. The rest of the draft "looks" like a disaster, but let's see how it turns out.

If in 2 more season, we end up with 3 or 4 starters/contributors plus a franchise QB that draft will turn out to be thought of as a lot better than we initially thought.

As an aside, I heard an interesting stat today from an interview with Jason Licht GM of the Buc's (and a form Pats FO guy, IIRC) In the intro of him, it was mentioned that EVERY one of draft picks he has made since 2019 was on an NFL roster in 2024.

THAT is good drafting. That doesn't mean that all his picks worked out for the Buc's, but all you can ask of a GM is to provide with new guys good enough to play in the NFL. Maybe they found success in another system, but at least the GM brought in NFL level talent. Good for Jason Licht.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

There is no worse ways to wake up than....
1) Smoke/Fire Alarm
2) A human scream
3) Dog throwing up

I love you but you are so wrong. One of the worse is waking up to the phone ringing at 2AM and the lady on the other end yelling at you because your high school son is in the basement of her house with her daughter.

Hypothetically speaking of course, that never happened to me