PATRIOTS EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF PLAYER PERSONNEL ELIOT WOLF
PRESS CONFERENCE
April 25, 2025
EW: Hello, everyone. Pretty excited about the players that we were able to add to the team. Starting last night and continuing on tonight, obviously helped the offense out. As we move forward here, certainly going to look to address the defense. Wanted to start out just by saying thank you to the coaches, the scouts, the families, everybody that's sacrificed to make this thing possible. Obviously, the college scouting season is all year long, and these families really sacrifice a lot, their husbands away on the road a lot. Appreciate the coaching staff coming in, new staff, trying to install offense and defense, and really bending over backwards for us to watch as many possible players as they can. Getting a week off, going to pro days. It's just been a really good process with Coach Vrabel, and we're excited about the guys we were able to add.
Q: Can you start by breaking down some of the players, like [TreVeyon] Henderson?
EW: Sure. TreVeyon Henderson had a great career in high school. He's a five-star running back coming out of Virginia. Continued onto Ohio State, started as a true freshman, played there for four years. Extremely productive player, extremely good speed, pass protection, pass game. Although he's a little bit undersized, we view him as a three-down back and a really good compliment. He's a threat with the ball in his hands, speed to take at the distance anytime he touches it.
Q: And [Kyle] Williams?
EW: Kyle Williams started his career at UNLV, ended up at Washington State, had a really productive junior year when Cam Ward was quarterback there, and then continued that on this year. He's fast, can play outside and inside, really good with the ball in his hands. For an undersized guy, he's really tough. He doesn't shy away from anything. He can block. Had the opportunity to visit with him on his 30 visit here, and he really has a great personality, and we're excited about what he's going to add from that perspective.
Q: And [Jared] Wilson?
EW: Jared Wilson, just a young, athletic offensive lineman, has center-guard flex, didn't give up a sack all year this year. His athletic ability is really what stands out about him.
Q: Eliot, do you anticipate any of these three to challenge for starting roles? How do you see them contributing?
EW: Yeah, we see all of them with the ability to come in and compete. Obviously, with Coach Vrabel, it's going to be a blank slate, and everyone's going to come in and have the same opportunity. Certainly, we have some established players at some of these positions, but each player is going to come in and we'll see what they can do.
Q: You mentioned the idea of addressing the defense on day three. How do you feel like what you guys did over the first couple days sets you up for day three?
EW: Yeah, we were able to add a couple of picks. We added a fifth, and then we added another pick next year, so we were excited to be able to do that. That's just the way the board was dictated to us, the way it was stacked. We feel fortunate about that. The way the board is holding up right now, there's still some players that we feel can help us moving forward.
Q: Eliot, you talked about Wilson having center-guard flexibility. Obviously, you signed [Garrett] Bradbury. If he's the starter for this year, could you see Wilson getting a chance to compete at, say, left guard, with the guys that you have there?
EW: Yeah, I could see that being a possibility. Most of his experience has been at center this past year, but he had played guard. He was basically the sixth man at Georgia prior to this year, so he's got experience practicing and playing at guard there. I think center's ultimately going to be his best position, but we'll get him in here, see what he can handle mentally, and see what he can do.
Q: I think right now you have 10 receivers on the roster. Do you anticipate any moves there, maybe moving on from a veteran or two? How do you see that in terms of competition?
EW: No, I see it as us being able to add depth and strength in the group. Obviously, Stefon's [Diggs] going to be limited as we move through the spring here, so we're still going to give those guys as many opportunities as we can.
Q: Eliot, the broadcast showed you on the phone with the clock down to under a minute with that 38th overall pick. Can you take us through what was happening there on the phone and why you ended up on TreVeyon?
EW: Yeah, some teams were calling, talking about moving up. Ultimately, we didn't feel that the value that was being offered to us was worth possibly losing out on TreVeyon, so we just ended up sending the pick in and getting him on the phone with about 58 seconds left there.
Q: You said with the other trades, it's the way the board was stacked. Was that players coming off the board right before your pick and deciding to trade down, or having an idea that some of those guys would be available later on that you'd be interested in?
EW: Yeah, a little bit of both. There were some guys that were drafted, maybe not right before us, but a few picks before us. Some teams that were pretty active there in that third round with teams trying to move around a lot. Some of the calls are kind of crazy asking for stuff. I feel like a lot of times people just look at their point chart and don't really use common sense at times, so there were some funny asks. Ultimately, we feel like we did what was best.
Q: Will Campbell said he had a meeting with you in week five this past fall, and he said, 'Get me to New England,' basically. What was your experience like when it came to that conversation and the evaluation process through the pre-draft?
EW: Yeah, I wouldn't say it was a meeting. I was at practice, and practice ended, and Sherman Wilson, who works at LSU, brought Will over and we had a conversation. He told me that he really would love to be a New England Patriot, and I just assumed at the time that he said that to every scout that came by. As some of those conversations continued post-season and seeing him at the Combine, he was being genuine about it. He really was locked in on us, and we were locked in on him for a long time, too.
Q: With Campbell, his wingspan would be a bit of a historical outlier at that position. How do you look at that information, and did that give you any pause at any point during the evaluation process?
EW: I wouldn't say it gave pause. It's something when you get that metric, you go back and look at it. I think we only started measuring wingspan like 10 years ago, so historically for the last 10 years, maybe it's an outlier. Ultimately, it always comes back to the tape, and some of his unique athletic ability and ability to bend and extend. Even though he doesn't have that long wingspan, his ability to recover, and his ability to anticipate. For a young guy, he's pretty polished for an offensive lineman, so we just kept coming back to the tape and seeing those things and didn't think they affected him too much.
Q: Eliot, hard not to notice the level of athleticism you added through the four picks tonight, even with speed. How important was that as you looked at your roster last year, realizing you had to get faster and more athletic?
EW: It's definitely an emphasis. All four of the guys we picked can run. It probably doesn't matter as much for the offensive lineman unless there's a turnover. The two skill players we drafted, even Kyle, I think, ran 4.45, and TreVeyon ran 4.41. When you watch the film, I think we both expected those guys to run faster, so I think their play speed is really what stands out about them, too.
Q: A few weeks back, you talked about taking the best player on the board in certain parts of the draft. Is that the case for TreVeyon because going in, running back might not have necessarily been a need per se, but in that instance, did you guys look at the board and say, 'He's the best player here, we're going there.'
EW: Exactly, yeah, that's what we did. We just felt like his ability to – it's a deep draft for running backs. There's still some guys up there that we feel could help us, but just his ability to be a threat and make huge plays was something that stood out with him versus the rest of the class.
Q: Eliot, Kyle's ability to beat man coverage, how much did that appeal or factor into his evaluation?
EW: Yeah, quite a bit. His ability to win off the line with his releases and accelerate, his ability to stem guys at the top of the route, there's still some things that he could work on and clean up, which I'm sure Todd [Downing] and Josh [McDaniels] will work with him on, but that was something that stood out to us throughout the process.
Q: With TreVeyon, how much does his leadership and his maturity factor into the evaluation?
EW: Yeah, I mean, we feel like all four of the guys we drafted are good people. That's obviously an emphasis moving forward, getting the right type of people in to fit the culture. TreVeyon, he's a senior, which is pretty rare in this draft so far, but the time we spent with him was pretty good.
Q: Along those lines, TreVeyon said he had kind of limited contact with you guys before the draft. What goes into that evaluation when you maybe haven't met with the player as much personally?
EW: Yeah, I feel like TreVeyon maybe forgot one of the meetings because Coach Downing met with him at Ohio State, and he didn't mention that. We'll have to talk to Todd, maybe he wasn't wearing his Patriots shirt. But no, we spent time with him, and obviously we have ample connections with Ohio State, not only [Mike] Vrabel, but Stretch [John Streicher], Cam Williams, both those guys are Ohio State alum. We have a really good relationship with those people over there, and obviously, this was a great year to have those connections with them winning the national championship and obviously the number of players that are going to be drafted from there.
Q: When you're drafting Wilson, does that allow Cole Strange to go back to the left guard where he started, or do you still see him competing at the center position?
EW: Yeah, we see versatility as the name of the game here. So, we feel like Cole, obviously, has the experience at guard primarily, he got that great experience at center last year, so we feel like he can compete at both spots.
Q: Eliot, when you look at your depth chart at this point, and obviously these guys have to get in the building and everything like that, but it looks like you've addressed just about every need in this – from defense in free agency to offense, offensive line, wide receiver. Do you feel like, to this point in this offseason, that you guys have been successful in sort of getting together a team that can compete tomorrow if they had to?
EW: We do. That was obviously an emphasis, and that's something that we came up short with last year. So, moving forward, I still think there are a bunch of areas that we can add depth to, and there's some areas, particularly on defense, that we feel like we need to shore up a little bit.
Q: With Jared, I'm curious, he was – I mean, I think he only had one year's experience as starting center. To use one of your top 100 picks on him, what was it about him that really stood out that made you kind of want to go for him and take him, despite not having as much on film?
EW: Yeah, I mean, he's still a young guy, so I think your point about playing one year is kind of maybe what we liked a little bit, is just the upside, the trajectory for him to have the success he had this year as a first-year starter. We think that the sky's the limit for him, especially with his unique athletic ability, and he's big. I mean, he's 310 pounds, so.
Q: Eliot, whether this was a trade or a pick you made, or a trade or a pick that didn't happen, what was the hardest decision tonight?
EW: The hardest decision tonight was what to eat. I wasn't real excited about some of the choices in there, but eventually they – no, in all honesty, there were some really good conversations before our first pick with Coach Vrabel, Ryan [Cowden], Cam, Matt [Groh] and Alonzo [Highsmith]. Just there was a little bit of a debate about who we were going to pick, and ultimately, one of the players we were talking about got drafted, so it didn't end up mattering, but I think it was a really good step in the right direction just for us working together in our relationship as co-workers because 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 something, so I think it was really productive from that standpoint.
Q: Do you have the name of the player?
EW: No.
Q: Was there a worst trade offer for you guys?
EW: I would say there were more trade offers tonight than I would say was normal. No, I mean, there were some that were just kind of like, you don't even have to think about it. Sometimes you get off the phone, you're like, 'Hey, let me check on that, I'll call you right back,' and there were a couple that we're just like, 'Nah.'
Q: Were there any thoughts of moving up the board to snag someone that you had targeted?
EW: Yeah, we had some of those conversations, and again, they were probably saying the same thing that I just said about us. Like, 'That's not enough,' but it ultimately just didn't work out in that fashion.
Q: Between TreVeyon and Jared, they've won national championships and been on national championship rosters, both played in big games. Is there something to be said about guys winning championships and bringing that in here?
EW: Yeah, I think it's winning championships and also the pedigree of some of these guys. Georgia, Ohio State, LSU, even Washington State played some big games, so I think when you have that pedigree, I think it gives – these guys come in a little bit more ready maybe than some guys from some other schools.
Q: Do you feel you've gravitated toward the offensive side of the ball because you think they can directly support Drake [Maye]? Is it easier to pull the trigger on maybe an offensive player versus a defensive player at the same spot?
EW: I mean, again, sometimes it's just how the board works out. Again, we're not necessarily drafting for need, but we're drafting with our current roster in mind. So, obviously some of these guys, like you said, maybe the running back position wasn't a top need, but it was certainly somewhere – we wanted to add speed to the roster, to your point, so here's a fast guy that plays running back that can really help us. It's a really good player. It's a good person, so there you go.
Q: Obviously, quarterback wasn't a big need, but what's the reaction to seeing Shedeur Sanders still on the board?
EW: It's surprising. We evaluated him. I had the opportunity to watch him play against Oklahoma State this year, and they killed Oklahoma State, so it maybe wasn't the best game to look at. But it was interesting to see that he's still available, and I'm sure there's going to be a fit for him here tomorrow.
Q: With TreVeyon, you said that despite him being a little bit undersized, you see him as a three down back. What is it about him that you think he can do that?
EW: Well, as far as a third down standpoint, he's a really good pass protector. He can run routes, he can catch the football, but he can also run inside. He's not a grinder between the tackles power runner, but he has good vision. He hits the hole hard. He has good feet and obviously has the speed to run outside, so we just feel like he has that toughness and versatility.
Q: You mentioned defense as a focus tomorrow, and you have a lot of picks. Do you feel like you're prepared to go up and target specific players and position with that extra capital that you have?
EW: Yeah, certainly we have that option. I think we're up fourth tomorrow, so I wouldn't imagine we'll go up from there, but with having three fives, we have some flexibility to maybe go up if the board kind of dictates that there's someone that we can't live without.
