Coming off an unexpected Super Bowl appearance in February, and learning just how far away they are from raising another Lombardi Trophy, the stakes were considerably high for the Patriots in the just-completed NFL draft.
Add in having Mike Vrabel, the head coach and chief-decision maker, absent for Day 3 of the draft to attend counseling in wake of Page Six publishing a number of suggestive photographs of him canoodling with former Athletic NFL Insider Dianna Russini, and the task became even more significant.
The Patriots made six of the team’s nine overall picks during his absence on Saturday.
“Business as usual,” Eliot Wolf, the team’s executive VP of player personnel, said at the conclusion of the draft.
Well, it was anything but. Wolf and fellow personnel head Ryan Cowden may have handled the proceedings without a hitch, but if this draft ultimately doesn’t produce, fingers will point in the direction of the Vrabel scandal and who was missing Day 3.
That said, time will tell if the Patriots were at least able to land a handful of players who will make significant contributions going forward.
Overall, the split was five offensive players, and four on defense.
With that as a backdrop, here are a few takeaways from the proceedings.
Offensive tackle? Check. Edge rusher? Check. Tight end? Check. Running back? Check. Backup quarterback? Check.
One by one, the Patriots took care of business attaching players to their greatest needs. The lone exception was safety, where Craig Woodson will need a new partner if Kevin Byard leaves after one season.
While Wolf continually talked about taking the best player available, which is always the hope, it was obvious they had positions in mind.
And that’s fine. They were really thin depth-wise at so many positions. They needed to plug as many holes as possible.
Whether they actually scored players who will be long-term solutions remains to be seen.
Last season, they had quite a few rookies (Will Campbell, Jared Wilson, TreVeyon Henderson, Kyle Williams, Craig Woodson) either start or contribute. They also had a successful rookie kicker in Andy Borregalas.
At first glance, it doesn’t appear the 2026 class will have that kind of impact right away. There’s quite a few developmental, special teams types.
Of course the Patriots braintrust didn’t say that Campbell was in jeopardy of losing his job. Wolf made sure to point out Campbell was the team’s starting left tackle.
But, it’s clear he’s going to have competition, and, at the very least, that’s a good thing.
Campbell, the team’s first-round pick last season and fourth overall selection, really didn’t feel threatened from the early camps on.
While he’s vowed to come back better and stronger after a rough playoff ride, it’s important not to let him feel too comfortable.
Enter first-round tackle Caleb Lomu. He was primarily used as a left tackle at Utah, although he has the ability to play on the right side, which is important given Morgan Moses’ age.