Eliot Wolf Offers Insight Into Patriots’ Draft Strategy — Or Did He?

The New England Patriots are changing many things from a season ago, including how they approach the draft.

That’s what the important people in Foxboro, Mass., are saying, at least.

Eliot Wolf spoke to Patriots season-ticket holders at a team event Sunday and acknowledged New England drafted too much for need last year, per MassLive’s Karen Guregian. The executive vice president of player personnel proceeded to claim the Patriots will employ more of a “best player available” approach to this year’s draft — a sentiment he also shared at last month’s NFL Scouting Combine.

However, New England fans probably shouldn’t put too much stock into Wolf’s remark.

That’s not to say Wolf was lying or that the Patriots shouldn’t take the best player available at No. 4 overall. It’s more so that Day 1 of the draft still a month away, and so much can happen between now and when the Titans go on the clock. And speaking of Tennesse, Mike Vrabel’s old team — as well as the Cleveland Browns and the New York Giants — will all have a major say in what New England can even do with its first-round pick.

There’s also the gamesmanship factor of it all. Teams up very high on the draft board often use smoke and mirrors to gain some leverage on Draft Day. Wolf has been around the NFL long enough to know how the pre-draft game works, so his remarks about New England’s supposed strategy might just be something for other teams to think about.

One way or another, the Patriots will make a franchise-altering decision on April 24. But fans probably shouldn’t think themselves into a tizzy about what could happen, as the possibilities are virtually endless.