Eliot Wolf will be in charge of the personnel department
- Thread starter soxhop411
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It’s going to be fascinating to see how he does. People do speak very highly about Wolf and it makes you wonder why Bill perhaps didn’t trust him more these last three seasons.
So far based on this offseason, there is not a lot of evidence pointing to BB not trusting Wolf.
Every move has been one that you would expect BB to make and I might say they have been more conservative than BB would have been.
Now the big question will be the draft and if they do something different.
To me the tell will be how they end up picking at 34 and 68 (and maybe even 103), assuming they go QB at 3. I absolutely would have seen BB taking a CB or some other slightly less needed position at one of those picks. If they go OT-WR (or WR-OT) then it will feel like a new regime to me.
Edit: and also, which guys they take amongst those position groups. Do they go with more of a consensus pick, or is it more of a BB-style "reach"?
I don't think there is any indication Bill didn't trust him, he brought him in and gave him a key place in the organization. Bill made the final calls sure. Though also, I don't know that I see many areas of pro-scouting (where Wolf's biggest focus was under Bill) where I think Wolf seems likely to be different than Bill. As to college... unclear how prominent Wolf was, but also.... QB is QB, I don't think Bill LOVED Mac at draft time, he just needed a QB and that was the best he could do, that more than anything sealed his tenure here.
Not sure how much it tells us. Wolf is also from an organization that is not a "draft for need" type of group. They draft best player/athlete a lot.
If anything BILL is the guy who drafted role highly. He needed an athletic guard... he goes and gets Cole Strange maybe early, he needs a big bodied WR, he gets N'Keal. He needs someone to play the hybrid safety role... he gets Dugger. Bill drafted for need a TON, and very specific role based needs rather than just position. People may have disagreed with him on what they saw as the needs, but Bill was a much more "fill a very specific hole I see" drafter than most teams. Packers traditionally are defined by two things as a draft philosophy:
1. Always be drafting QBs at some point, better too early than too late
2. Best athletes, players at the position, you can figure out fit later.
Even tho I didn’t work out, I’m not sure Bill would’ve made a big swing for Ridley. You could argue they tried with Hopkins last year but my sense was that they approached that pretty conservatively last year compared to what was reportedly a big offer to Ridley this offseason.
I’m talking more about the reports that Bill was overruling his scouting staff in recent years. Assuming their veracity, that would by definition include Wolf.
This is the most interesting piece I took out of the article. Does make one wonder what the "nuanced" ranking system Bill preferred relied on. We know NE was notorious for having one of the smallest boards come draft time. Hopefully this new approach will lead to less picks on specialists until 6/7th rds.
I believe they ranked players based on which role they envisioned them performing in the Patriots system and how their skill set fit their requirements for said role.
If Bill were still GM, and coming off a 4 win season, people would be calling him to be fired if his biggest acquisitions were a #3 WR with a terrible drop % last year, a swing tackle who got benched, a fumble prone 3rd down back and a bunch of spare parts and roster fodder on defense.
Wolf is getting the benefit of the doubt because it’s a rebuild but we’ve seen Bill go big when his teams have disappointed (2007 and 2020 with different results). I don’t know that Bill would have been this conservative in terms of cap space remaining. Maybe he would have made different decisions on retaining some guys but I think he would have been a little more aggressive on the defensive side of the ball where there were plenty of guys who could have helped beyond this year.
To be fair they’ve also retained some key pieces including guys like Uche and Duggar whom we all thought were goners. Who knows how that would have played out under Bill but he seemed more willing to let guys walk, for better or for worse.
Yes, this. I think there has been a decent amount written about this in books like "The Education of a Coach," "Patriot Reign," and others...Even "Parcells" (I think BB's idea of drafting a guy who fits in your system originated with him).
Yes, me as well.
I don’t know that it is necessarily an indictment on BB, but it is very clearly a totally different approach to how the organization ranks players, and assumedly, runs the draft. I am excited to see how it plays out. It will be quite refreshing to take BPAs that are on the board unexpectedly as opposed to over-drafting for specific roles or types of players.
And having a better idea of what other teams may want or have guys ranked, should help a bit in trading as well--moving up or down.
At some point, we'll all stop saying this but: that is not a shot at how BB ran things.
I don't think that was ever a problem. I mean look at last year, they made that trade down and while they might not have KNOWN they would get Gonzalez, it seems pretty clear from what has come out that they were confident they knew which corner WAS wanted, and that PIT and NYJ weren't going corner.
I think there is no real impact to the new system in terms of interaction with other teams, probably not even a huge change in the draft pick approach (new OC probably a bigger one).
it's just a different approach, and the approach you'd expect when the GM and coach aren't the same guy. Bill could have his system his way in large part because he was the coach, he knew exactly what he wanted to run on both sides, what he wanted out of the players in those roles, etc. And he knew he was going to be there as coach as long as he was GM. Bill had a ton of success that way, we've gone over it before, but his draft record is at least average if not better than most GMs. Once you fire Bill though... you're running like other teams, you want to build a roster out and fit the general system but be flexible for new coordinators or coaches, .
Was it the case that BB was still using the system he developed with M Lombardi? Lombardi has spoken about that process on his pod and it made sense to me.
Some interesting (ymmv) sound bites from Wolf’s press conference
“do you feel like a quarterback has to be the first pick?” “No”. Though they do think a pick worthy QB will be there at 3.
We’re open for business with the first pick and any other pick
“the more picks we have the better”
So messaging all over the place and they’re certainly not giving any hints on their vision. All probably standard vague pre-draft presser
I don’t know. He said “we’re open to anything” or something like that many times. Which- great, I guess, but after this off season it all feels a bit passive to me. Put the open invitation out there for other teams to ponder if you must, but I’d love to see them make some shit happen to improve this roster. Would love to be wrong about this. I’m probably just being impatient
Edit: thank you Luckiestman and apologize I thought I put the link in
“do you feel like a quarterback has to be the first pick?” “No”. Though they do think a pick worthy QB will be there at 3.
We’re open for business with the first pick and any other pick
“the more picks we have the better”
So messaging all over the place and they’re certainly not giving any hints on their vision. All probably standard vague pre-draft presser
I don’t know. He said “we’re open to anything” or something like that many times. Which- great, I guess, but after this off season it all feels a bit passive to me. Put the open invitation out there for other teams to ponder if you must, but I’d love to see them make some shit happen to improve this roster. Would love to be wrong about this. I’m probably just being impatient
Edit: thank you Luckiestman and apologize I thought I put the link in
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I don’t think there was anything particularly useful in Wolf’s brief press conference.
It was odd to hear him say that he thinks they’ve addressed the offense in a way where they don’t need to draft for need given the holes at WR, LT, QB1 and to a lesser extent RB. But I guess that’s to be expected
He likes the current WR group. He kept all options open (no brainer for a public statement) for the draft.
No GM is going to reveal his draft plans or dump on the players on the current roster so there’s really nothing to be gleaned here.
The only mildly interesting thing he said was mentioning how big and strong Brissett was and how that was a factor in signing him. If you squint really hard maybe it looks like evidence they’d have Daniels below Maye if they value those characteristics highly enough to mention. But that’s probably overthinking things
It was odd to hear him say that he thinks they’ve addressed the offense in a way where they don’t need to draft for need given the holes at WR, LT, QB1 and to a lesser extent RB. But I guess that’s to be expected
He likes the current WR group. He kept all options open (no brainer for a public statement) for the draft.
No GM is going to reveal his draft plans or dump on the players on the current roster so there’s really nothing to be gleaned here.
The only mildly interesting thing he said was mentioning how big and strong Brissett was and how that was a factor in signing him. If you squint really hard maybe it looks like evidence they’d have Daniels below Maye if they value those characteristics highly enough to mention. But that’s probably overthinking things
He doesn’t need to put out an invitation. I’m sure he’s had plenty of conversations and has an idea of what teams are generally offering for different trade scenarios. I doubt him saying “yeah we want to trade” is going to get Minnesota to realize that the Pats are entertaining offers and they should up their bid for the pick.
Yeah exactly- which is why it’s struck me as odd that was his main message. Of course teams know this and have called so why is he stating and repeating it. Just an odd vibe all around to me. But as I said, maybe all just intentionally vague nonsense in a presser where the goal is solely to avoid tipping you hand
Tis the season of lying and misdirection (par for the course with the draft), but it's encouraging if Wolf is being honest about recognizing the need to fill the roster with draft picks and possibly trading back to have more shots at doing so.
Summary: anything is possible, we aren’t desperate to take any particular position at any particular draft slot, and any choice could be good.
This is run of the mill stuff, teams aren’t out their genuinely signaling their intentions. There is nothing ‘odd’ about it in that respect.
This is run of the mill stuff, teams aren’t out their genuinely signaling their intentions. There is nothing ‘odd’ about it in that respect.
None of this is unusual but I have to say it makes Bill's standard "best interests of the team" line make even more sense. If you establish a general principle like that, then you don't need to say much more. Wolf's general principle of "we're open to it" isn't objectionable, but does lead to more questions from prying reporters.
Summary:
I am obligated to have this press conference. I will give zero useful information and neither open nor close any avenues or approaches, and give no information of value.
I am obligated to have this press conference. I will give zero useful information and neither open nor close any avenues or approaches, and give no information of value.
Why would giving out useful true information now help the Patriots in the upcoming draft.
If other teams know what your plans are and who you rank higher vs lower, they can move ahead of you to grab the players you want. Or not trade with you/stand pat because they know you aren't taking their guy.
If other teams know what your plans are and who you rank higher vs lower, they can move ahead of you to grab the players you want. Or not trade with you/stand pat because they know you aren't taking their guy.
It also gives you cover if things go wrong. If everything is in the best interests of the team, then how can any move be truly criticized?
It wouldn't that's the point, people trying to read into it are wasting their time
I honestly don't even get what the point of this press conference is. What is the GM even going to say? Any GM?
Agreed I don’t see the point in these (or any public comments on roster decisions). Seems like every team is doing them though and they’re all meaningless.
All standard, boilerplate, liars poker season stuff. I still fully expect them to take Maye or Daniels at no. 3.
Ian Rapoport
@RapSheet
#Commanders GM Adam Peters, talking to reporters today: "We feel great about staying at No. 2. Don't see a lot of scenarios where we trade down."
Granted Adam Peters knows which QB he can take at 2 vs. NE who has to "settle" for whoever is available at 3 but it is interesting to see WAS basically say they are sticking and picking.
Didn't exactly say that though... said they feel great about, and don't see "a lot" of scenarios... which is very much a "we'll pick unless we get a great offer" which is where everybody but CHI is.
There's no real point but it does get people's attention and eyeballs and build some momentum for the actual draft. The NFL publicity machine.
I think there is a significant difference in Wolfe's presser and Peters. Wolfe seems to be posturing a lot more than Peters. Both are sticking and picking QBs unless NE really doesn't like the QB left at 3.
Interesting. You had no qualms about constantly using the same criticisms over and over of BB last season when all he ever did was in the best interest of the team. Now it's not an issue for you. Huh.
Wolf doesn't control his options to the extent Peters does is what I see, so he's in a stronger position. He'll either get the best deal he can or his #2 QB in the draft.... Wolf may not get his #2 QB... and if he has a tier break after 2.... that's tough.
Actually, one thing the press conference did was make me feel better about Wolf as the controlling member of the Patriots draft room. If it's a committee, it's harder to get things done. Wolf sounds like he's in control AND he sounds like he knows what he's doing. Obviously, results will matter, but as of now, I see no reason not to give him the better of the doubt. He said all of the right things and none of the wrong ones.
Yes, because without a presser where the GM said nothing of substance, no one would be interested in the NFL draft.
I don't necessarily blame Wolf for having the presser, but it was also pointless. You can see why BB never engaged in such silliness.
I wonder if there's some point. GM makes inscrutable statements that can mean ten different things to ten different people. NFL press/draft industrial complex isn't going to say/write :"None of the GMs said anything useful, goodnight Mel," so they extrapolate and suddenly there's 50 stories about every team based on the flavor of participle the GM used. Maybe (maybe) one of those invented stories ("Pats' GM doesn't rule out trading pick for a bag of millipedes") that creates some kind of local pressure on GMs of other teams that night help their own team. ("New Panther GM ponders true value of veteran millipedes...")
Or maybe its just obligation-meeting bullshit.
I'm sure you're right. But the whole exercise is pointless. Nothing of note was said, no one learned anything, the whole thing could have been skipped and we'd be just fine.
Draft can't get here soon enough.
I’m assuming based on Schefter that the Commanders are taking Daniels leaving the Pats to take Maye. But one thought that occurs to me is if they are sold on Maye but not Daniels or McCarthy they might be wanting to send a message that there are scenarios where they could be open to trading the pick.
It could just all be spin BS. But that would explain why Peters is being pretty clear that Washington is picking at 2 while the Pats are being a bit more vague.