On Packers receivers Greg Jennings and DeVante Adams and his thoughts on Marvin Harrison Jr.:<\/strong><\/p>\n“Those players that you mentioned that we had with Green Bay, it wasn’t me, it was a collaborative effort.\u00a0 We were really excited to get those guys, and they’ve obviously … Greg was a great player and DeVante continues to break records, and eventually, he’ll be getting the gold jacket.\u00a0 Thanks for the question about Marvin, he’s a good player.\u00a0 Obviously, there’s a lot of strengths to his game, and he can translate into any offense in the NFL.”<\/p>\n
On what stands out with the Bills as they try to compete with them:<\/strong><\/p>\n“Brandon Beane’s done a great job with those guys.\u00a0 They obviously have Josh Allen.\u00a0 They have tremendous weapons on offense.\u00a0 They have a really good defensive scheme.\u00a0 We’ll be able to compete with them as we move forward here.\u00a0 They’ve done a great job drafting, and that’s something that we’re going to continue to try and do.”<\/p>\n
On the fact they have Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe and the #3 pick and what that means at QB:<\/strong><\/p>\n“I’d say there’s a lot of options on the table.\u00a0 I’m glad you asked about Mac and Bailey.\u00a0 We’re not going to be a program that’s talking about these guys in terms of through the media.\u00a0 We’re going to do what’s best for the team behind the scenes, and the strategy of that is going to be myself, Jerod Mayo, Matt Groh and we’re going to try to do the right thing for the team.”<\/p>\n
On the report Mike Onwenu fired his agent and what that means to the negotiations:<\/strong><\/p>\n“It doesn’t impact us.\u00a0 Mike’s a core player for us that it’s no secret we want to try to keep Mike and it will just be a little bit of a wrinkle dealing with him.\u00a0 Mike’s really smart and he’s introspective and he’s thoughtful, and he knows what he wants, which is always good when you’re dealing with a player and he’s certainly someone that we view as a cornerstone for us.”<\/p>\n
On his thoughts on the quarterbacks in this year’s draft:<\/strong><\/p>\n“I think it’s a good year for quarterbacks.\u00a0 It’s a really good year at a lot of positions.\u00a0 Like any position, we’re going to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, determine who fits for us.\u00a0 We’re pretty early in the process here.\u00a0 I haven’t met any of these guys, Jerod hasn’t met any of these guys.\u00a0 As we continue through the process here, we’ll determine what’s best for the team.\u00a0 One thing about the quarterbacks in this draft specifically that I’m excited about is they all look like they’re really tough guys which is obviously great at any position but the quarterback position especially.”<\/p>\n
On how he tries to gauge mental toughness and how important this week is:<\/strong><\/p>\n“I don’t know how important this week is for that specifically, but I think it’s about talking to the right people and asking the right questions, and when we meet with them, asking the right questions and that may be here in a formal interview, that may be at a later date at the pro day or wherever that may be, but we have to determine who can handle being the quarterback of the New England Patriots.”<\/p>\n
On the size of his staff and how he sorts through their skillsets:<\/strong><\/p>\n“That’s a great question.\u00a0 I think the key is just having open and honest meetings and dialogue.\u00a0 We had a series of meetings last week that were tremendous for us as we all got on the same page in terms of what our team needs are, and I was actually really encouraged by everybody willing to just say their opinion, even if it was different from the previous person.\u00a0 So having those open, honest meetings and working together to determine the best outcome is definitely what’s important.”<\/p>\n
On his experience in the past determining who is good at certain things, while others aren’t good at that but may be good at something else:<\/strong><\/p>\n“Of course.\u00a0 I think part of being in a leadership position is understanding the strengths and weaknesses of everybody in the building, and that includes myself.\u00a0 Like, I have strengths, I have weaknesses, and it’s important to be able to supplement your team with people who can feed off of each other.”<\/p>\n
On what attributes he values the most evaluating quarterbacks:<\/strong><\/p>\n“Good question.\u00a0 First of all, being someone that can elevate his teammates, someone that your teammates want to play for.\u00a0 I think that’s an extremely underrated thing that people don’t really talk about that much.\u00a0 Leadership’s important and obviously physical talent, we wouldn’t be talking about these guys if they weren’t physically talented.”<\/p>\n
On how much he emphasis he puts on a quarterback’s body language on the field, and if he’s ever thought about using an outside agency for player evaluations:<\/strong><\/p>\n“Body language on the field is very important at that position.\u00a0 You don’t want a guy that’s throwing his hands up after a bad play, or you can see him physically pointing at somebody.\u00a0 Body language is important.\u00a0 Everybody’s looking to the quarterback.\u00a0 And as far as outside agencies, I’m not exactly sure what you mean by that …”<\/p>\n
Like personality tests, and to see how this personality matches this personality, those type of things:<\/strong><\/p>\n“Yeah, we have a lot of tests that we use and resources like that.\u00a0 I don’t know if there’s one specific to body language that we utilize.”<\/p>\n
On the franchise tag and how it applies to Mike Onwenu or Kyle Dugger:<\/strong><\/p>\n“I would say that all the options are on the table.\u00a0 We definitely want to keep Mike and Kyle, and we’re hopeful to continue to work with Kyle’s agent and Mike to make that happen.”<\/p>\n
On his roster philosophy and how it’s different from what he’s been a part of the last few years:<\/strong><\/p>\n“I think there’s going to be a little bit more reliance on playing young players.\u00a0 I think it’s really important in today’s football to be able to play young players and develop from within.”<\/p>\n
On if he’s open to trading the #3 pick and if he’s fielded any calls:<\/strong><\/p>\n“Yeah, I would say all options are on the table and we haven’t heard anything specifically, no.”<\/p>\n
On the chain of command and who is responsible for that #3 pick and who makes the call:<\/strong><\/p>\n“It’s going to be a collaborative effort, coach Mayo, myself, Matt Groh, the whole staff.\u00a0 At the end of the day, somebody has to make that pick, and that will be myself.”<\/p>\n
On the fact the last Super Bowl had guys taken at notably different spots and the traits he looks for as he evaluates quarterbacks:<\/strong><\/p>\n“That’s a good question.\u00a0 I think when you look throughout the league, most of the quarterbacks are first-rounders.\u00a0 I think there’s exceptions to be had, like Dak Prescott, Brock Purdy, and Tom Brady.\u00a0 But I think just the league-wide understanding of how important that position is and how important it is to have somebody there that can help you win games and get over the hump has changed league-wide.”<\/p>\n
On his thoughts on why he thinks the Packers keep getting the quarterback right:<\/strong><\/p>\n“Luck. [Laughs]\u00a0 No, I’m just kidding.\u00a0 No, I think the scouting process that I grew up with that [Packers GM] Brian Gutekunst continues to employ has been really good, and they’ve been fortunate to sit [Aaron] Rodgers and sit Love for a year, and that’s been able to help them.\u00a0 I wouldn’t say that applies to every quarterback, but it certainly helps them.”<\/p>\n
On the lessons he’s learned from his father [Ron Wolf]:<\/strong><\/p>\n“I think in terms of scouting itself, is just kind of trust what you see and believe in it.\u00a0 But also really lessons about people.\u00a0 I still believe, and this is great to be able to work with Jerod who also believes this, this is a people business and it’s about developing people and the culture is created from the people in your building.\u00a0 Whether that’s scouts, coaches, players, support staff, and I think that’s tremendously important as you try to build the culture that you want.”<\/p>\n
On Mayo’s ‘cash to burn’ comment and if they plan to be aggressive in free agency:<\/strong><\/p>\n“We’re going to aggressively try to help the team.\u00a0 Take that however you want.\u00a0 But we’ll try to do what’s right, whether that’s means spending or saving.\u00a0 TBD.”<\/p>\n
On his first trip to the combine and what he remembers about it:<\/strong><\/p>\n“That’s a good question.\u00a0 So my first trip to the combine was 1993, I was 10-years old. This is my 30th combine.\u00a0 I’ve been every year except for 2021 when they didn’t have it.\u00a0 The combine now is so much more organized than it used to be.\u00a0 I mean, the workout was supposed to start at 10:00 back in the 90s, and maybe it would start at 1:00 and everybody would be sitting in the dome the whole time, it was crazy.\u00a0 There were no formal interview times. It was like a big scrum of people grabbing guys.\u00a0 There were scouts and coaches fighting each other because they wanted to interview somebody next.\u00a0 It was kind of wild.\u00a0 But it’s a credit to Jeff Foster and the league and NFS to putting this together.”<\/p>\n
On what 10-year old him was doing there:<\/strong><\/p>\n“I was really just kind of dipping my toes into scouting and watching the workouts and evaluating.\u00a0 My dad used to sit down at the start of the 40s, and it was him, Bill Parcells and Al Davis, and I was just sitting there soaking it all up.\u00a0 It was just tremendously rewarding. and kind of as I look back on it, it was definitely a special time.”<\/p>\n
On what Patriots fans should expect from an Eliot Wolf-led personnel department:<\/strong><\/p>\n“That’s a good question. I think the main thing is just getting players that fit our culture.\u00a0 Getting players that want to do right, want to do the extra.\u00a0 But in terms of just physical skills, we need to weaponize the offense.\u00a0 We need to be faster and more explosive on defense.\u00a0 Height, weight, speed, playmaking ability, there will definitely be an emphasis on those things.”<\/p>\n
On what his pitch to free agents is:<\/strong><\/p>\n“Yeah, I would say our pitch to free agents is, this is a new program, and we’re heading in the right direction.\u00a0 It’s a new era.\u00a0 We have leadership with Jerod Mayo that is going to be tremendous.\u00a0 He’s just an unbelievable leader and developer of people.\u00a0 And I think as we move forward with a new offense and defense, it’s going to be pretty special and exciting here.”<\/p>\n
On Robyn Glaser’s role and the ways she’s been helpful:<\/strong><\/p>\n“Robyn’s been a good resource for everyone.\u00a0 She continues in her role as Chief Legal Counsel, and she’s been helpful with some of the day-to-day behind-the-scenes things that need to get taken care of.”<\/p>\n
On the fact the team hasn’t been very good the last few years and whether or not he’ll have to pay a “tax” in some ways to encourage them to come here:<\/strong><\/p>\n“Yeah, in some ways.\u00a0 But I think that’s kind of free agency as a whole.\u00a0 Teams can put their best recruiting pitch on and, at the end of the day, a lot of the times, they’ll go to whoever is offering them the most money.”<\/p>\n
On what he’s hoping to accomplish this week:<\/strong><\/p>\n“That’s a good question too.\u00a0 The amount of information\u00a0 that we get here is just so tremendous.\u00a0 Not only the timing and testing, the measurements, the body types, the jumps, and all those things, but we get all the medical information.\u00a0 We get to meet with 45 guys formally and countless others informally.\u00a0 Talking to agents, getting information, talking to front office people on other teams, and scouts.\u00a0 The amount of information that we can accumulate in a week is awesome, and it’s really a credit to the city of Indianapolis the way this thing’s set up too because everything is right here.\u00a0 It was 70 degrees out yesterday, but there’s no need to go outside here because everything’s just kind of connected.\u00a0 It’s still a really great resource for us.”<\/p>\n
On the #3 pick and how involved he anticipates ownership being involved on some of the decisions:<\/strong><\/p>\n“They prefer to stay out of football, but they’ve been very supportive of Jerod and myself and Matt.\u00a0 Anything we need, we’ve got, in a lot of ways.\u00a0 I think they have opinions, which they’ll share, but ultimately it’s down to Jerod and I.”<\/p>\n
On if he and Alonzo Highsmith have changed the rating system that they’re using to evaluate players:<\/strong><\/p>\n“We changed the grading system.\u00a0 It’s a little bit more similar to what we did in Green Bay.\u00a0 The previous Patriots system was more, “this is what the role is,” and this is more, kind of, value-based.\u00a0 So I think it makes it a lot easier for scouts to rate guys and put them in a stack of like, “this guy’s the best,” “this guy’s the worst,” and everything in-between falls into place rather than sort of more nuanced approaches.\u00a0 I just think it accounts value better and it also makes it easier for the scouts in the fall as well as in the spring to determine where guys will get drafted.”<\/p>\n
On what Alonzo Highsmith’s title is:<\/strong><\/p>\n“Senior Personnel Executive.”<\/p>\n
On the new system not being role-specific, all receivers will be ranked together, running backs will be ranked together:<\/strong><\/p>\n“In a sense.\u00a0 I mean, we’ll still have slot receivers, perimeter receivers, things like that.\u00a0 To me, it’s a little bit less about the grading system and more about the process that we’ve put in place.\u00a0 This process is a lot more collaborative.\u00a0 We hear from the scouts more.\u00a0 We’re going to be able to determine together what’s the best thing for the team at the end of the day.”<\/p>\n
On how people have responded to changing the grading system:<\/strong><\/p>\n“It’s actually been really encouraging.\u00a0 The scouts have been really open to it, and they’re trying.\u00a0 Some guys have been here for 20 years with the old system.\u00a0 So, again, I think, for me, it’s a lot less about the grading system and more about the process of determining who the best player for the Patriots is.”<\/p>\n
On having guys he worked with in the front office in Green Bay working with him here:<\/strong><\/p>\n“The front office I worked with in Green Bay was phenomenal.\u00a0 I mean, when I look back at those times, the amount of guys that have gone on to great success in this league, and Ted [Thompson] was the forefront of that.\u00a0 Ted was so humble and so introspective. and just taking a lot of things from him will help me as I move forward in my career.”<\/p>\n
On how he would define “the Packer Way”:<\/strong><\/p>\n“Yeah, the Packer Way, to me, is just sort of draft and develop, extend your core performers from within, and again it’s about honesty, respect, and treating people the right way.”<\/p>\n
On transfer quarterbacks, and whether or not playing more than one system is a benefit:<\/strong><\/p>\n“I don’t know that I would say it’s a benefit or a hinderence.\u00a0 I think every person, every situation is different.\u00a0 I think there’s something to be said for somebody that’s grown and developed in the same scheme for four years or five years, and I also think there’s something to be said for someone who has had those different exposures and has had to deal with that adversity of changing schemes and changing staffs.\u00a0 So I think it’s an individual-based answer.”<\/p>\n
You can watch the full press conference via the team’s YouTube page below:<\/p>\n