Will Robert Kraft appoint an 'official GM' for first time during his ownership?

Since moving on from Bill Belichick, the Patriots have been operating without an official GM. Eliot Wolf reportedly has final say over personnel decisions, leading many to assume that the director of scouting was New England’s de facto general manager.

As Doug Kyed and Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald pass along, Wolf will retain his current title until after the draft, at which time owner Robert Kraft will consider a potential promotion. The owner has reportedly “received positive feedback” on Wolf, making the executive the favorite to land the top front office job.

“I’m excited with what I’ve seen so far, and we’ll evaluate after the draft and see how that’s gone and decide where we go from there,” Kraft said, via the Herald.

The son of Hall of Fame executive Ron Wolf, Eliot Wolf spent more than a decade in Green Bay’s front office to begin his career. He joined the Patriots in 2020 and quickly earned a promotion to his current gig. Once the Patriots/Belichick divorce was official, Wolf participated in head-coaching interviews before helping Jerod Mayo fill out his staff.

As Kyed and Callahan note, the Patriots have never had an official “general manager” since Kraft took over ownership of the organization. That was partly due to Belichick’s control over the roster, but the Patriots did employ high-ranking officials like “vice president of player personnel” and “director of player personnel.” Kraft may follow a similar route this time around, but there’s not a better time to pivot to the more traditional front-office hierarchy in a post-Belichick era.

Before the organization figures out official roles for the front office, the Patriots will be focused on the draft…particularly their third overall pick. There have been conflicting reports about the selection’s availability via trade, but it’s generally believed that New England will consider offers for the pick.

If the team does make a trade, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe says the team is still likely to select a quarterback in the draft. Moving back would surely take the Patriots out of range for a top-tier QB, but the team would still have plenty of opportunities to select someone at the position (including at their No. 34 pick).

Speaking of the top-tier quarterbacks, there were some rumblings that the Patriots weren’t enamored with UNC’s Drake Maye. However, Jeff Howe of The Athletic reports that the Patriots will attend the prospect’s pro day on Thursday, and Mayo all but confirmed the team’s interest in Maye while speaking with reporters the other day.

“Drake Maye had a fantastic interview at the combine. He brings a lot of energy. You can tell he has that leadership ability,” Mayo said, via Reiss. “Also the exciting part about a guy like Drake Maye, there is really no ceiling with a guy like that. In saying that, when we’re trying to put together this roster, I know a lot of people look at the ceiling. But you also have to look at how low is the floor. I would say a guy like Drake Maye — he has a lot of room to grow. He’s a young guy. Honestly, he hasn’t played football nearly as much as these other guys. So that’s definitely something we’ve looked at, but he’s definitely going to develop.”

The Patriots have already brought in Jacoby Brissett to keep the QB seat warm, so New England is clearly intent on bringing a rookie QB along slowly. That much is known…it remains to be seen which rookie QB (and which rookie QB tier) the organization will ultimately land on.