Personnel decisions have driven recent Patriots performance, with poor choices contributing to consecutive last-place finishes in the AFC East. Mike Vrabel's arrival as head coach and de facto personnel leader has shifted the team toward better personnel decisions and an encouraging first draft. Eliot Wolf assumed full personnel control after Bill Belichick's dismissal, a move met with skepticism due to his prior advisory role. Wolf drafted Drake Maye successfully but followed with several ineffective picks. Wolf also granted eight post-2023 contract extensions—some acceptable, many falling short of expectations—leaving a mixed evaluation of those investments.
Personnel decisions are at the heart of any NFL team's success. If you make more right ones than wrong, you may just have a successful team. If not, you'll be consigned to the dustbin of last place in your division, as the Patriots have been the past two seasons in the AFC East. Hopes have been rekindled in Patriot Nation now with the astute hiring of Mike Vrabel as Head Coach and de facto personnel guy.
After the 2023 season, Eliot Wolf became the Executive Vice President of Player Personnel, in complete charge of personnel after the dismissal of Bill Belichick. It was a head-scratching decision by owner Robert Kraft since Wolf had been a top advisor to Belichick in personnel, and that operation's decision-making had been widely trashed. In his first season, Wolf drafted Drake Maye, a great decision. Unfortunately, he followed that pick with a plethora of others who can't seem to contribute.
Collection
[
|
...
]