Eliot Wolf Details Reason For Day 2 Disagreement Among Patriots Execs

FOXBORO, Mass. — There was a disagreement inside the Patriots war room.

New England decision-makers, including head coach Mike Vrabel, executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf, executive vice president Ryan Cowden and senior personnel executive Alonzo Highsmith, among others, were at odds over who to select with the team’s second-round pick. The group was between two players, one of which ended up being running back TreVeyon Henderson, the selection at No. 38 overall.

“In all honesty, there was some really good conversations before our first pick,” Wolf said at Gillette Stadium on Friday. “There was a little bit of a debate about who we were going to pick.”

Ultimately, Wolf said, the other prospect in contention was drafted before New England was on the clock. It settled the debate for those at One Patriot Place before one side won and one side lost.

Wolf viewed the experience as a helpful one for the new regime.

“I think it was really good step in the right direction, just for us working together and our relationship as co-workers,” Wolf said. “We have to have productive disagreements for this to work. We can’t just agree on everything. We can’t just acquiesce to each other, on somethings. So I think it was really productive from that standpoint.”

Wolf did not reveal the identity of the other prospect nor which decision-maker desired the unnamed prospect. Wolf, though, was shown on the phone as the seconds ticked down. He said it was because he was sifting through and ultimately rebuffing trade offers for the 38th pick. The Patriots took it down to the final minute before they turned the card in.

In the end, the Patriots selected Henderson, an impressive pass-catching running back who might just be the start of something special in New England. Or at least the product of Vrabel and company’s first internal strife.