Welcome to the Two-Minute Drill, a roundup of all the (mostly) Patriots-related offseason news you need this Wednesday afternoon. Nibble on your lunch, and let's boogie...
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Word came this afternoon via Albert Breer that former Packers and Browns personnel executive Eliot Wolf has joined the Patriots as a consultant.
To me, this is very good news for the Patriots.
Why?
Obviously I have some familiarity with Wolf from my time covering the Packers and since through NFL circles.
Wolf has always received great reviews from the people he's worked for (Mike Sherman, Ted Thompson and John Dorsey, among others) and the people he's worked alongside. The son of Hall of Fame executive Ron Wolf is smart, works hard and thinks outside the box when it comes to personnel. Besides John Schneider with the Seahawks, Wolf might have been the most well-rounded person to come out of the Packers' braintrust (Dorsey, Reggie McKenzie, Tim Terry, Alonzo Highsmith). He's interviewed a handful of times for general manager spots and didn't get one. I think that's just because he might come off a little quiet and NFL owners — who usually are looking for the wrong things — are looking for macho-type GMs. He should be a GM at some point.
I think he'll be a great asset to Bill Belichick and Nick Caserio in this crucial time for the Patriots.
"He's the real deal," said one former associate. "He has a thorough knowledge of the league and the draft. He'll be a real asset for them."
To this point, the Patriots do not have a lot to show for their last four drafts (obviously that can change, especially with the more recent drafts). That has led to a bloated payroll and the league's oldest roster. Things need to change in that regard for the Patriot to keep competing at a high level in the future, with or (especially) without Tom Brady.
The Patriots have a good haul of picks in this year's draft after the compensatory pick announcements: a first, three third-round picks, a fourth, four picks in the sixth round and three in the seventh. If the Patriots give it one more good run before their cap situation becomes better after this season, they're going to need to start hitting a higher percentage in the draft.
Wolf can help in, really, all areas of roster building. In his time with the Packers, they were known for finding quarterbacks, receivers and hitting on late-round picks/undrafted players. The Patriots could use help with both. Wolf's specialty is pro personnel. He would often be on the phone lining up trades, only to see Thompson never follow through. Wolf would scan other team's rosters for steals and he was pretty good at it.
The Patriots have had a few different people in similar roles over the years, from Floyd Reese to Mike Lombardi (both eventually had full-time roles). Both were former GMs who were better in the building. Wolf is an evaluator, and the Patriots need all the help they can get there at this stage.
Wolf is the type of person who can bring a different eye to the Patriots' evaluation of the draft and other team's rosters. The Patriots have had issues drafting receivers and (some) defensive backs. Perhaps Wolf can give Belichick and Caserio a different perspective on these positions that can help the team.
It also won't hurt that Wolf was right in the middle of the Packers' transition from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers and all that was associated with that.
That experience can't hurt either, but I would mostly expect Wolf to be an asset to Caserio in the free-agent and draft process. He was already working on both with the Browns, and then the Seahawks after the front office in Cleveland was blown out (again).
BUCCANEERS COMING FOR BRADY
The Bucs are going all in on Tom Brady.
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This is not hype. It’s hope. This is fact, not fantasy. This is the plan. This is the Bucs’ play.
This is the 67-year-old Arians, who has coached Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer wanting to complete the set. This is an ownership with 45,000 or more empty seats at Raymond James Stadium to sell for eight Sundays, knowing one guy who can fill them.
Elsewhere around the NFL...
2. Rob Gronkowski is close to a deal with WWE. What he'll do for them — whether that's on or off the mat — is unknown. I don't think this would preclude him from an NFL return, but that seems unlikely at this point.
3. Another day, another report of the Titans wanting to re-sign Ryan Tannehill. I wonder where I read that before ... hmm. If I'm Tannehill and agent Todd France, I'm squeezing the Titans to re-sign Tannehill before tampering starts. You don't want to be a Tom Brady consolation prize after what Tannehill did last season.
4. Reshad Jones could definitely be a Devin McCourty backup plan at safety.
5. Jets FA WR Robbie Anderson dreamed about playing with Tom Brady. I'd like to see them together here but fat chance of that.
6. Brian Flores suggested a rule change that would help defenses hold leads late.
7. Released LB Christian Kirksey is visiting the Raiders first ... doubt he gets out of there. They need three new starters.
EXTRA POINT
The full Jon Gruden quote (re: Tom Brady), via @VegasNation. His response about Carr very similar to what he said at the combine pic.twitter.com/NO0VyTuqg0
— Black Hole Banter (@BlackHoleBanter) March 11, 2020
