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(PHOTO: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports) Throughout the transition from former Patriots coach Bill Belichick to new head coach Jerod Mayo, Robert Kraft had made one thing clear.
Ownership was not going to be involved in final football decisions, as “you can’t hold them responsible and have them accountable.”
To this point, it had seemed like Eliot Wolf had been the one primarily running things leading up to Thurday night’s start to the NFL Draft. However, TheAthletic’s Dianna Russini reported on Monday that while the club is “listening and taking calls from teams” who are looking to make a deal at #3, Jonathan Kraft has been “heavily involved in the decision-making.”
What that exactly means is tough to say. By ‘heavily involved,’ that could very well mean that Wolf has kept him informed of who has called and what offers have been made, in terms of any potential trades, as well as where their intentions currently stand.
At the same time, it could also mean that Kraft is potentially overruling some of those same decisions. That would go against what his father suggested several months ago.
“It will be the same input we’ve had for the last three decades,” said Robert Kraft back in January. “We try to hire the best people we can find and let them do their job and hold them accountable. If you get involved, and tell them what to do or try to influence [them], then you can’t hold them responsible and have them accountable.”
“So it’ll be within the people’s discretion who are the decision makers to do it. And if we’ve hired the wrong people, then we’ll have to make a change. But we’re going to try to enjoy it as fans.”
Wolf suggested in a previous press conference ahead of the Scouting Combine that, “I think they have opinions, which they’ll share,” he said, referring to ownership, “But ultimately it’s down to Jerod and I.”
According to Wolf, the club is “open for business” as it pertains to the #3 overall pick, although reports have suggested that ownership would prefer to see them take a quarterback.
One other concern is the fact that while Kraft said recently “I think Eliot [Wolf] has good training, good pedigree, and we actually have a good group of young people,” the plan still seems to be to interview potential GM options after the draft.
Wolf was asked last week about the potential that he’s “on a trial” with the team, but he dismissed it and said, “I haven’t thought about it that way,” adding, “I’ve just kind of put my head down and tried to do things that I feel like are the best for the Patriots.”
However, if Jonathan is getting in the way of any decisions, coupled with the fact the club hasn’t committed to Wolf and Highsmith, the idea that the duo could move on if another team pursues them following this draft should be a concern.
Considering how things have gone in the past, that would be a situation that would be both disappointing yet not necessarily surprising. Both Wolf and Highsmith have been solid everywhere they’ve been, and losing them to someone else would certainly hamper a team that absolutely needs smart minds in its front office.
For now, we’ll see what it all means two days from now when the Patriots either make a deal, or find themselves finally on the clock.
The Patriots added some depth at tight end on Monday, with the club adding former Bengals tight end, Mitchell Wilcox.
Wilcox was a restricted free agent this offseason, but Cincinnati didn’t tender him, which made him a free agent. He’s a player who primarily played on special teams and wasn’t really involved in their offense last season, with Wilcox catching just 9 passes on 12 targets for 56 yards in 2023, moving the chains just twice.
The former standout from the University of South Florida was an undrafted free agent in 2020 before earning a role on the Bengals’ practice squad after that 2020 preseason. He took things a step further in 2021, with Wilcox making it onto Cincinnati’s 53-man roster, but ended up catching just 3 passes on 5 targets for 16 yards.
The following season would be his biggest, where he caught 17 passes on 18 targets for 139 yards along with a touchdown. However, he gained a bit of unwanted notoriety in the season opener that year, stepping in for their injured long snapper in a home game against Pittsburgh.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work out as well as he probably hoped. After Joe Burrow threw what looked to be the game-winning touchdown to Ja’Marr Chase with just 0:04 to go in the game, a slow snap by Wilcox led to a missed extra point, which saw the game go to overtime.
The Bengals’ defense then held the Steelers to a three-and-out to begin overtime, with Burrow then leading them down the field to the Pittsburgh 11.
However, a high snap by Wilcox saw the 29 yard field goal end up going wide left, which extended the period and Pittsburgh ultimately went on to win the game 23-20 with a 53-yard field goal.
Credit Wilcox for trying to help out, but it was simply an unfortunate debut at the position for the young tight end.
For now, he’ll likely take over the role that Pharaoh Brown held last season as the club’s third tight end. Brown departed New England for Seattle this offseason.
In addition to Wilcox, the current Patriots roster now also has fellow tight ends Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper, and La’Michael Pettway on the team’s depth chart.
Mike Reiss said on 98.5 The Sports Hub that regardless of what happens, the club is very “motivated” to come out of this draft with a QB. “That’s the biggest mystery is how they’ve got these quarterbacks rated,” said Reiss. “I would say that very few people within the walls there know the ranking, they’ve kept it closely guarded. So I don’t know how they have them rated, but I do know that they are very motivated and, as you would expect, to come out of this draft with a quarterback. They’re operating, as I understand it, with the mindset that you can’t win without a quarterback and they’re obviously happy they have Jacoby Brissett, who they think can start for them initially and keep them competitive and help mentor a young quarterback. But to come out of this draft without a quarterback, I think that would be a tough … I don’t think that’s the way they’re looking at it right now, is what I would say.” … The tampering case involving the Falcons and Vikings could see a penalty announced this week ahead of the draft. One theory would be that the NFL won’t strip the Faclons of their 1st round pick, but instead drop Atlanta from #8 overall down to #32, which would certainly change the landscape a bit in the top 10, especially if New England elects to move down. … For now, Vegas seems to believe it will be Drake Maye selected at #3 overall. BetMGM has the odds sitting at -160 for the Patriots to take the North Carolina quarterback at that spot. … Devin McCourty believes that a deal with the Vikings, if one comes to fruition, might potentially see the Patriots try to get them to include getting offensive line help. “I think for them if they can get two or three first-round picks plus a player—a player like [Christian] Darrisaw in Minnesota, the left tackle—if they can get him, then I think they’re like, ‘Hey, Minnesota, Kevin O’Connell, you want to move up to number three?” said McCourty via Boston.com. “Give us a starting left tackle that we can go out there and say we now have a left tackle for the next five to ten years on our roster, go ahead.’”
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