While Patriots director of scouting Eliot Wolf currently has the final say over personnel decisions and will serve as New England’s de facto general manager through the upcoming draft, we have known for at least a month that the team intends to interview a high-ranking front office executive after the draft concludes. Interviews may be conducted for a general manager position, a position that would push Wolf aside or possibly out of the company entirely.
It’s worth noting that Wolf has made significant changes to the prospect evaluation method the Pats employed under Bill Belichick’s long career, as reporter Sam Robinson pointed out in the piece linked above. It would be unusual if New England gave Wolf the authority to make these changes only to replace the decision-maker after the selection. In a similar vein, we had heard the Wolf-led Patriots were implementing a “Packer-based structure” that prioritizes the personnel department’s opinion over the head coach’s. Additionally, it was believed that Wolf played a significant role in both the offseason head coaching search and the hiring of new head coach Jerod Mayo’s staff.
All of that suggests that the Patriots will name Wolf their official general manager and have the new hire report to him. This is especially true given that the team has given Wolf the responsibility of selecting the team’s quarterback in 2024 (the Pats have the No. 3 overall pick and will have a fantastic opportunity to choose their next franchise quarterback). Owner Robert Kraft recently stated, “I’m excited with what I’ve seen so far, and we’ll evaluate after the draft and see how that’s gone and decide where we go from there,” in response to favorable comments on Wolf.
However, following the draft in the late 2010s, teams like the Chiefs dismissed John Dorsey in the summer of 2017, as did the Texans, Bills, Jets, and others. With Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston revealing that New England will interview general managers following the draft in a recent episode of Tyler Dunne’s Go Long podcast, it is still possible that the Patriots take a different route. Perry thinks it’s “crazy,” but he has been hearing for months that the team captain, who is guiding the Pats through this crucial period in their history, is not a lock to take over as general manager after the draft.
Should that occur, the team would have to adhere to the Rooney Rule, which mandates that two external minority applicants be interviewed for the position of general manager. Perry agrees that, as previously mentioned, the organization could just bring on a new executive to support Wolf rather than take his place. However, Dunne thinks that Wolf, the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame executive Ron Wolf, will select a quarterback with the third pick, which may be what Kraft wants, and won’t move out of the slot given the obvious uncertainty surrounding Wolf’s status. Dunne also thinks that Wolf will select UNC quarterback Drake Maye (listen to the entire radio episode, especially Patriots fans!).
According to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, Perry and former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman both believe that an overpay would be necessary to persuade Wolf & Co. to trade the No. 3 pick rather than holding onto it and choosing a prospect like Maye, Jayden Daniels of LSU, or J.J. McCarthy of Michigan. Perry suggests that the Vikings would have to give up both of their 2024 first-round picks as well as their top picks in the 2025 and 2026 drafts in order to obtain New England’s pick. The Vikings have both the Nos. 11 and 23 selections in 2024 and have been strongly linked to a trade-up attempt. Spielman believes that the Patriots might push for a top-tier pick and that three first-round picks and a second would be the “starting point” in talks.
After the Bears and Commanders have selected their quarterbacks, the Wolf-led Patriots could, as has been predicted, select the highest-rated quarterback still available if the Vikings or any other team is unwilling to pay that kind of price. Nevertheless, it’s still unclear who that player could be.
