Eliot Wolf to have final say in the Patriots’ draft room

Wolf also confirmed that the team is moving to a different grading system in Year 1 after Bill Belichick.

The New England Patriots may not have a general manager by title, but it’s no secret who has final say when it comes to personnel decisions and the No. 3 overall pick in the NFL Draft: director of scouting Eliot Wolf.

“It’s going to be a collaborative effort: Coach [Jerod] Mayo, myself, Matt Groh, the whole staff,” Wolf said Tuesday at the NFL Combine. “At the end of the day, someone has to make that pick, and that’ll be myself.”

While Wolf has final say, New England has been persistent on establishing a more collaborative approach within football operations. Wolf noted that will include the front office hearing more from the scouts throughout the pre-draft process.

“This process is a lot more collaborative,” he explained. “We hear from the scouts more. We’re going to be able to determine, together, what is the best thing for the team at the end of the day.”

Beyond the new process, Wolf has also established a new draft grading system — which will mirror the one he ran in Green Bay where he spent 14 years rising through the organization.

“We changed the grading system. It’s a little bit more similar to what we did in Green Bay,” Wolf explained. “The previous Patriots system was more ‘this is what the role is’ and this is more kind of value-based.

“I think it makes it a lot easier for scouts to rate guys and put them in a stack of ‘this guy’s the best, this guy is the worst, and everything in between falls into place.’ Rather than sort of more nuanced approaches. I just think it accounts value better and also makes it easier for the scouts — in the fall and spring — to determine where guys will get drafted.”

That won’t be the only change Wolf brings from Green Bay, as he emphasized their way of operating as focusing on drafting, developing, and extending core players. New England has failed to do just that in recent years, as they haven’t awarded a player they drafted in the first three rounds to a second contract since Duron Harmon in 2013.

That could change in year one under Wolf, as he made it clear on Tuesday the Patriots hope to retain both Kyle Dugger and Mike Onwenu. New England could also look into extending Christian Barmore this offseason, who proved to be a core player for the defense moving forward.

“I think there is going to be a little bit more reliance on playing young players,” Wolf said. “I think it’s really important to play young players and develop from within.”