In his first draft running the show in New England, Patriots' director of scouting Eliot Wolf is open for business.
"We're open to anything -- moving up, moving down," Wolf said Thursday. "We're open for business in the first round and in every round. We have some holes we feel like we need to fill in the draft, and we're a draft-and-develop team. The more picks we have, the better. But if there's an opportunity to move up and strike if the board kind of recommends it, then we won't be afraid to pull the trigger on that either."
Sitting with the No. 3 overall pick, the Patriots could hold the keys to the draft if they're willing to move back and eschew a top-3 QB.
The main question Wolf will answer in a week: Select a QB or trade back for a haul to garner more lottery tickets for the rebuild.
At this point, most prognosticators believe Wolf & Co. will sit tight and take a quarterback at No. 3 to usher in a new era. The de facto GM noted that it's a unique year with multiple quarterbacks who could be selected in the top 5. Wolf added Thursday that he'd be "comfortable" taking one of the top three or four QBs at No. 3. He also noted that the Pats don't have to select a quarterback with their first selection.
Wolf rejected the notion that the Patriots roster, which is in flux after 24 years under Bill Belichick's guidance, isn't ready to support a rookie quarterback.
"I read a lot of that storyline," he said. "I'm not really sure what that means. We have a solid offensive line; we re-signed Mike Onwenu, we have David Andrews coming back, we have three rookies that we drafted last year that are developing, we signed (right tackle Chukwuma) Okorafor from the Steelers, (re-signed tight end) Hunter Henry, a good running game, a solid foundation and a solid system in place with coach (Andy) Van Pelt on the offense. So, I definitely feel like we can support."
Questions about the Patriots' roster are warranted, particularly given that the wide receiver group is a glaring weakness without an alpha. However, that shouldn't be a reason to draft or not draft a quarterback. If said pick is what the team believes, he'd buoy the entire operation. If he's not, the surroundings likely wouldn't matter in the long run. Clubs can't wait until the situation is ideal to make a move on the most critical position in sports. Football teams aren't formed in a petri dish.
If Wolf sticks at No. 3 and picks a quarterback, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him try to move back on Day 2 (currently holding picks No. 34 and 68) to add more selections to his catalog.
