1 – Many Patriots fans and media alike were all hot and then bothered by the way free agency began last week. Thanks to Jerod Mayo’s regrettable and growingly infamous “burn some cash” comment and Eliot Wolf’s follow-up desire to “weaponize the offense” a massive expectation was set heading into free agency with $100 million to spend in New England.
Almost a week later, with little notable talent added to the mix, disappointment and endless questions have taken hold in Patriot Nation.
But that same NFL Scouting Combine day when Wolf talked of weaponizing an offense that was impotent last year, he also described the “Packer Way” in which he learned the scouting business under his Hall of Fame father as having a focus on being able to “draft and develop, extend your core performers from within.”
And those words, those are the ones that apparently were the road map for Wolf’s first offseason seemingly running the personnel department at Gillette Stadium.
There is no question that with the Patriots losing out or failing to go all-in to acquire high-end talent at either offensive tackle or wide receiver that those two massive needs remain focal points heading into a draft where New England is very much expected to take a quarterback at No. 3 overall.
Yup, while we all had dreams and dollar signs dancing in our heads, Wolf was focused on drafting and developing.
Oh, and extending core players from within, which would obviously explain the return of Mike Onwenu, Hunter Henry, Josh Uche and others in New England this offseason.
Wolf told us exactly what the Patriots were going to do.
We just weren’t really listening. Or at least didn’t focus on the right words.
2 – Wolf’s “draft and develop” Packer-rooted plan is certainly one that can work. But it obviously requires a couple key factors, elite drafting and time to develop. It’s no quick fix. Though it’s really unrealistic, it now looks like Wolf and the Patriots will be intent on landing a franchise QB at No. 3 overall on April 25 and then swinging back around the following night to potentially snare a starting left tackle and top-end pass catcher in the second and third rounds, at least how the picks stand right now.
That’s a lot to ask for. It’s not impossible. But it’s also not likely. It puts a lot of pressure on Wolf and his draft staff to have their ducks very much in order. And probably also requires a bit of luck if it’s to work out as well as they and some fans hope.
3 – The clear and obvious focus on a critical, franchise-altering draft had us looking back to see some of the best drafts in Patriots history when it pertains to the top three picks or first three rounds of work. Getting All-Pros Devin McCourty and Rob Gronkowski in the first two rounds followed by a starting linebacker in Brandon Spikes in 2010 is a pretty darn good haul. A year later the first-round, traded-aided double-dip of Chandler Jones and Dont’a Hightower was laudable. Landing Pro Football Hall of Famer Richard Seymour at No. 6 overall in 2001 while also snagging team Hall of Fame left tackle Matt Light in the second round is a pretty impressive combo as well early in the Bill Belichick era.
Back in 1995-1996 the Bill Parcells draft days included Ty Law, Ted Johnson and Curtis Martin in the first three rounds of ’95, followed a year later by Terry Glenn, Lawyer Milloy and Tedy Bruschi. Tell me you are laying the foundation for multiple Super Bowl runs without telling me you are laying the foundation for multiple Super Bowl runs.
New England had three first-round picks in 1976 and turned those into Mike Haynes, Pete Brock and Tim Fox. That draft day success came just a few years after a first-round trifecta of John Hannah, Sam Cunningham and Darryl Stingley.
Lots of fans and media types like to throw history around leading up to the draft in terms of cautionary tales of failure. Can’t take the third-best QB! Can’t count on getting elite talent with three straight picks!
Well, history in New England and Kevin Garnett’s famous words both tell us that anything is possible!
4 – The reporting of free agent contracts has always been a misleading media minefield. Big numbers are bandied about, even while everyone involved knows the non-guaranteed NFL deals aren’t worth the paper or certainly the digital screen they are written on.
That’s gotten even worse of late, with fixations on deals being worth “up to” numbers that will almost certainly never be reached. With inserting of individual names of agents into reports as a clear hat tip for information and a piece of info that virtually no fan reading has any interest in. And, maybe worst of all, unspecified reports of how much more money a player “left on the table” with another team.
Free agency is almost always about money. The best deal.
That’s the reality. Not “up to” values. Not what a player coulda or shoulda gotten in another uniform.
“At the end of the day, like a lot of times they will just go to whoever's offering the most money,” Wolf said at the Combine of free agents.
Indeed.
5 – While the future has been the hottest topic regarding the Patriots of late, it’s followed very closely by reactions to “The Dynasty” docu-series on Apple TV. The 10-part series concluded this week with its final two episodes. There is no question that it’s worth the watch for any New England fan. While there is a lot that is disappointingly left out of the series, it certainly is a trip down memory lane. The overall tone and narrative is a bit off-putting in many ways. There are plenty of egos, agendas and biases throughout.
It is what it is. It paints many involved in a less than flattering light. That’s reality. But on the whole, it once again emphasizes the accomplishments of Tom Brady, Belichick and Robert Kraft in a triumvirate that probably shouldn’t have remained together atop the NFL for as long as it did.
6 – Despite plenty of speculation about would-be trades – the Vikings now have the ammo to move up! – or the idea of taking the supposed safer, best-player-available at another position, all signs still point to New England standing pat to take a quarterback at No. 3 overall.
“Like, they are taking one,” Daniel Jeremiah said on CBS Sports Radio. “Everything that I’ve heard seems to be they are committed to staying at 3.
The former NFL scout and current top draft analyst for NFL Network said the Patriots’ plan this offseason was to sign a veteran QB, which they did in Jacoby Brissett.
“Then they’re going to take the guy of the future there at 3.”
7 – Mike Vrabel’s unexpected firing by the Titans in early January seemingly muddied the water a bit in the pre-planned transition in New England from Belichick to Mayo. The sudden availability of the freshly-inducted team Hall of Fame linebacker was at least intriguing as a potential Belichick successor, seemingly undercutting some of the external transitional support for Mayo. Well, Vrabel was in the news this week when the former Ohio State star and assistant coach took on a consulting role with the homes-state Browns. The move was seen with a skeptical eye as Vrabel joins the staff of reigning Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski. In these parts it was pondered if Vrabel could have been an asset on Mayo’s staff? While he surely would bring credibility and experience to any role with any team, Vrabel’s presence would also in some ways seemingly undercut Mayo’s early tenure and power. Would Vrabel have been a good candidate to replace Belichick? Absolutely. But asking him to assist Mayo in some form or fashion would seemingly cause more questions than it answers during an already precarious and challenging transition in New England.