Mark Morse's Archive:

The Patriots made a very bad decision to trade down with the LA Chargers.  This was a swap of picks as the Patriots gave up #34 and #137 to drop down 3 spots to obtain #37 and #110.

The Draft is always the opposite of what you expected, and the 1st shocker of the night came when the New York Giants passed on a QB at #6 and took Malik Nabers, WR LSU instead.

This is a deep draft for Offensive Tackles and Wide Receivers.  First round talent for Cornerbacks and Edge Rushers is also plentiful.  I am predicting there will not be any trades in the 1st round unless MIN, DEN or some other team gets silly and offers the Patriots a Godfather offer. 

What will Eliot Wolf and the Patriots brain trust do in this draft?  Will they follow the “Packer Way” and draft the Best Player Available (BPA) regardless of team need or will they trade down, acquiring more picks to help their team overall?

It has been well documented that the Patriots need a QB, a game changing Wide Receiver or two, and a starting Left Tackle.  But a 4-13 team needs more than just those three positions.  Let’s take a dive into those other needs as well as the prioritization of the top three needs.

Signing Kyle Dugger to a long-term contract is a step in the right direction.  Dugger received the transition tag, which limited his free agency offers. 

At the League meetings this week in Orlando, the NFL adopted several new rule changes.  The two most controversial changes were the new kickoff rule and attempt to eliminate the “Hip Drop” tackle. 

Now that the dust has settled on Free Agency and most of the top name players are signed, we are left with an underwhelming roster of players for the New England Patriots. 

The final straw broke the camel’s back.  When Tyron Smith signed a one-year deal with the NY Jets, this transaction spelled the doom of rookie GM Eliot Wolf’s 1st foray into Free Agency. 

The Patriots up to this point of Free Agency are acting more like the “Packer Way” that is embraced by defacto GM Eliot Wolf. 

I’m ecstatic after the 1st day of Free Agency.  We retained the core players we needed to keep.

Monday starts the Legal Tampering period where teams and players can exchange proposals and essentially agree upon new contracts that can’t be executed until Thursday, the offiical start of the NFL’s new year.

The Underwear Olympics has been completed!   The Patriots had a slew of representative at the combine including Head Coack Jerod Mayo and Director of College Scouting (defacto GM) Eliot Wolf.  Both spoke to the media last week, an obvious departure from Bill Belichick, and gave some insight into the new draft process. 

Before breaking into the NFL, Montgomery worked in several college programs, mostly bouncing around Iowa.

The Wolf Pack – that’s what this new group in the New England Patriots’ front office will be known as.