The 2026 NFL Draft is less than 10 days away. Before New England is on the clock, Eliot Wolf spoke with the media to discuss the New England Patriots final pre-draft preparations. Do his comments foreshadow upcoming roster moves? This week’s Patriots Roundtable Podcast takes a closer look.
The countdown to the 2026 NFL Draft has reached single digits.
Before they’re on the clock, New England Patriots Executive Vice President of Player Personnel, Eliot Wolf, spoke with the media to address the team’s plan in the coming days. From potential trade targets to Day 3 selections, Wolf addressed a variety of hot-button topics for New England fans as the landscape of the draft becomes clearer.
In this week’s episode of the Patriots Roundtable Podcast, Eddie and Tyler continue their NFL Draft Preview by taking a closer look at Wolf’s comments and what they may infer about the team’s strategy moving forward.
Wolf’s pre-draft media availability began with questions about the team’s draft board, and their willingness to be aggressive in trades when targeting players they’d like to acquire. His pull-out quote from the session quickly became:
“We do have some flexibility with those 11 picks.”
Of New England’s 11 picks, eight come on Day 3 with four in the sixth round of the draft. If the Patriots are planning to move around the board, it’s been reported that they’d be interested in sliding up sometime on Day 2.
But what positions — or players — may they be looking to target? Wolf addressed that, as well.
On the most exceptional position groups in this year’s talent pool, Wolf first identified offensive and defensive line as strengths of the draft, with additional complimentary remarks about wide receiver and tight end — each aligning with positions of need for New England’s current roster.
If the Patriots are looking to target a trade-up in the second or third round, it would likely be to fill one of those areas, with especially deep second-and-third rounds projected for defensive line and tight end prospects.
As for wide receiver, Wolf was once again asked about the possibility of New England acquiring Philadelphia Eagles’ star A.J. Brown, to which he responded: “I’m going to keep the door open to anything that we think may improve our roster. Whether that’s with the player you mentioned, or any other player.”
It certainly still seems possible, if not probable.
Wolf also opened the door to adding another arm in the quarterback room behind Drake Maye and Tommy DeVito after the Patriots released Joshua Dobbs, and stated that the draft, an undrafted rookie, and pro competition are all on the table.
Another position Wolf identified as a need at the NFL Scouting Combine was linebacker — and the Patriots have since subtracted more than they’ve added to that core. On their plan to fill that need through the draft, Wolf commented that it’s a good depth position to target on Day 3.
It will be interesting to see how the board plays out for New England at the end of next week, but Wolf’s remarks confirmed speculation about where the Patriots are planning to spend their resources.
What positions should the Patriots prioritize early in the 2026 NFL Draft? Where do you think they can comfortably wait until Day 2 or Day 3 to find value?
Join the discussion in the community boards below, or on our Patriots Roundtable Podcast YouTube page — and stay tuned for lots more on New England’s NFL Draft strategy in the days to come on Patriots Roundtable.
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