With the 2026 NFL Draft only 10 days away, Patriots EVP of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf held his pre-draft press conference inside the New Balance Athletics Center on Monday.
Before answering draft-related questions, Wolf expressed his gratitude for the Patriots scouting staff and shared his excitement for New England’s football department’s new digs. Over the last several weeks, the Patriots football operations have migrated to the New Balance Athletics Center, which is adjacent to the team’s practice fields behind Gillette Stadium. Along with a state-of-the-art locker room and workout facility, Wolf said the Patriots also have a new “war” room for this year’s NFL Draft.
“It’s really exciting,the reaction from some of the players who are on the team who have come through here, as well as some of the pre-draft visit players who have come through. Guys from big programs like Georgia and Oregon that have outstanding facilities are commenting on the space that the Kraft’s designed and developed,” Wolf said. “We have a brand new draft room;from a technology standpoint, it’s state-of-the-art, it’s first-rate. It’s made things a lot easier.”
The Patriots personnel chief said the scouting department is making some final tweaks to the draft board, with the final round of meetings beginning last weekend. Although the hay isn’t quite in the barn yet, as Wolf put it, New England’s top executive shared his thoughts on several draft-related topics and how he sees the board shaking out for the Patriots next week.
Here are five takeaways from Eliot Wolf’s pre-draft press conference on Monday afternoon.
1. Wolf Breaks Down the Strengths and Weaknesses of the 2026 Draft Class
With the Patriots finalizing their draft board, Wolf outlined the areas he believes are strengths of the draft, mainly the trenches on both sides of the ball.
“It’s a pretty strong draft on the offensive and defensive line. Secondary, maybe not as much. Receiver and tight end are pretty good in comparison to some other recent years,” Wolf said. “We’re excited about some of these opportunities and there are some matchups with positions of need for us.”
Starting on the offensive line, the Patriots could be in the market for both tackles and guards. At tackle, 35-year-old Morgan Moses is expected to play next season, but drafting a possible successor to Moses at right tackle could be in the Patriots plans. Projected first-rounders Blake Miller (Clemson) and Max Iheanachor (Arizona State) are possibilities for immediate starter upside, while early day three candidates such as Jude Bowry (Boston College) and Travis Burke (Memphis) are intriguing.
Although they have projected starters on the interior for 2026 under contract, top right guard Mike Onwenu is heading into the final year of his contract. New England has reportedly shown interest in guards Chase Bisontis (top-50), Emmanuel Pregnon (top-50), and Jeremiah Wright (early day three), while mock drafters have highlighted G Kaylen Rutldge as a potential fit.
As for the defensive line, Wolf might’ve been lumping a stacked edge class into the defensive line, which we’ll get to shortly, while the interior defensive line is filled with wide-bodied run stuffers. Most notably, Ohio State’s Kayden McDonald, who led the FBS with 30 run stuffs last season, is a playmaking nose tackle who the Patriots have been linked to in reports. Ultimately, building a football team through the trenches is always a good idea, and Wolf sees this year’s draft as particularly strong in those areas.
2. Patriots To Use All 30 Pre-Draft Visits to Prepare for This Year’s Draft
Per league rules, each team can host up to 30 prospects on pre-draft visits at their facilities from outside the area, meaning players from nearby colleges can visit without counting toward the limit. For the Patriots, that means players from Boston College (e.g., Bowry) and UConn (e.g., WR Skyler Bell) can visit without them counting as an official 30 visit. Wolf then added that the Patriots will “max out” their 30 visits.
“We bring guys in for a variety of reasons, whether it’s to get medical, to get him in front of Mike [Vrabel]. If it’s a guy that we really like who doesn’t have a lot of red flags, like, ‘Hey, Mike is going to love this guy.’ We do some of that,” Wolf said. “If there are some questions about the character, or their learning, or the position fit — there’s a variety of reasons we bring guys in.”
From various reports, we know the names of roughly 20 prospects who have visited Foxborough over the last month or so, with 30 visits concluding this week. Along with explaining what goes on during the visits, Wolf added that the visits have “been great” this cycle.
“We haven’t eliminated anyone as we’ve done in the past, so it’s been positive,” Wolf stated.
In last year’s draft, the Patriots selected at least three players who visited Gillette Stadium: Will Campbell, Kyle Williams, and Joshua Farmer. For some teams, pre-draft visits aren’t a good indicator of who they might draft. Although it’s a small sample size, the Patriots might prioritize them more than other teams.
3. Patriots to Target Speed Off the Edge in the 2026 NFL Draft?
At the scouting combine in February, Wolf talked up this year’s edge class, which could have as many as 16 players drafted in the top 100, and pointed to it marrying up well to a Patriots need. On Monday, New England’s personnel chief was asked about the traits the Patriots might target in an edge rusher, given that they come in all shapes and sizes. To that end, Wolf noted the Patriots would like to add more speed rushers off the edge.
“We could complement our room with some speed, I think that’s evident. Dre’Mont [Jones], Harold [Landry], and Elijah [Ponder], and some of the other guys we have, they all have their skillsets. We would like to get faster. Dre’Mont is a guy who can play across the line. He can sneaky-beat you with speed, but that’s probably not his bread-and-butter, and so that’s an area where we’re trying to improve the depth on the roster,” Wolf said.
The speed-rushers that come to mind are Cashius Howell (first round), R Mason Thomas (top-50), Malachi Lawrence (top-50), Romello Height (top-100), Keyron Crawford (top 100), and Jaishawn Barham (top-100). Although you can never rule anything out, the Patriots prioritizing speed could take power-rushers such as Zion Young and T.J. Parker off the board. From this perspective, New England’s defensive system and current depth chart were already pointing us toward speed-rushers off the edge.
4. Is Day Three the Sweet Spot for the Patriots at Off-Ball Linebacker?
Another need that has developed over the course of the offseason is at off-ball linebacker, with the Patriots moving on from vets Jack Gibbens, Jahlani Tavai, and Marte Mapu. New England has starters Robert Spillane and Christian Elliss on the roster, while LB K.J. Britt signed with the team in free agency. Still, adding depth and youth, with Spillane heading into his age-31 season, could be something the Patriots target. When asked about this year’s linebacker class, Wolf pointed to day three as a potential sweet spot.
“For me, at least, I thought it was going to be a little bit better than maybe it’s come out. I do think it’s a good position on day three from a depth standpoint. I think there are a lot of players that you can justify using a day three pick on,” Wolf said.
Based on those comments, the Patriots using an early-round draft pick on a linebacker, such as Anthony Hill Jr. or Jacob Rodriguez, might not be in the cards. Instead, we ought to focus on day three at linebacker, where players such as Aidan Fisher (Indiana), Bryce Boettcher (Oregon), and Jimmy Rolder (Michigan) stood out in my review of the class. Like adding speed at edge rusher, pouncing on a deep linebacker class in the early-day three sweet spot, where the Patriots have two fourth-round picks, makes the most sense.
5. Tommy DeVito In-Line to Be Drake Maye’s Top Backup at Quarterback
Lastly, the Patriots decided to release veteran backup Joshua Dobbs earlier this offseason, which put day-three quarterbacks on the radar as potential backups. On Monday, Wolf credited Tommy DeVito for his growth last season, which made the team feel comfortable with moving on from Dobbs.
“It was less about Josh [Dobbs] specifically and more about the development and growth we saw from Tommy DeVito in his practice reps last year. He was a great resource for Drake [Maye].” Wolf said. “We’ve evaluated all the quarterbacks, and we’ll continue to do that. We’re looking at some pro options as well.”
Based on the de facto general manager’s comments, the Patriots seem comfortable with DeVito being Maye’s top backup, which could lessen the need to use a day-three draft pick on a quarterback. Instead, the veteran market or college free agency might be the route they go.
