Patriots Director of Scouting Eliot Wolf met with the assembled media at the NFL Combine on Tuesday and touched on several topics. One of the things Wolf talked about was that there would be more of a collaborative approach regarding the draft process. Scouts and coaches will have a voice and the team will not necessarily draft for need. They would be open to drafting the best available player and they that would consider all options regarding the third overall pick.
The new approach the Patriots are taking is a departure from the way they were operating under Bill Belichick, especially in recent years. The Patriots are now using the “Packer Way”.
So what is the Packer Way? Well, I thought the best way to explain it is to look back at some of the players the Packers drafted during Wolf’s tenure in Green Bay. That might give us some insight into his thought process.
Wolf was with the Packers from 2004 to 2017 and held multiple positions in Green bay’s front office. He started as a pro personnel assistant and was director of football operations before leaving the organization after not getting the general manager job.
Wolf worked for Mike Sherman who hired him and the late Ted Thompson. During Wolf’s time in Green Bay, the Packers drafted well. They built a roster that went to four conference championship games and won a Super Bowl. Here are some of the notable players the Packers drafted during Wolf’s time with the organization.
2005: QB, Aaron Rodgers, S, Nick Collins, OLB, Brady Poppinga
2006: ILB, A.J Hawk, OG, Daryn Colledge, WR, Greg Jennings, CB, Will Blackmon, OT, Tony Moll, DT, Johnny Jolly
2007: DT, Justin Harrell, RB, Brandon Jackson, WR, James Jones, ILB, Desmond Bishop, K, Mason Crosby
2008: WR, Jordy Nelson, TE, Jermichael Finley, OG, Josh Sitton, QB, Matt Flynn
2009: DT, B.J Raji, OLB, Clay Matthews, OG, T.J Lang, OLB, Brad Jones
2010: OT, Bryan Bulaga, DE, Mike Neal, S, Morgan Burnett, TE, Andrew Quarless, OL, Marshall Newhouse, RB, James Starks
2011: WR, Randall Cobb
2012: DE, Nick Perry, CB, Casey Hayward, DT, Mike Daniels
2013: RB,Eddy Lacy, OT, David Bakhtiari, OL, J.C Tretter, S, Micah Hyde
2014: S, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, WR, Davante Adams, TE, Richard Rodgers, OC, Corey Linsley
2015: CB, Damarious Randall, WR, Ty Montgomery, ILB, Jake Ryan, QB, Brett Hundley
2016: DT, Kenny Clark, OT, Jason Spriggs, ILB, Blake Martinez, DE, Dean Lowry
2017: CB Kevin King, S Josh Jones, RB, Jamaal Williams, RB, Aaron Jones
The Packers won 135 games during Wolf’s tenure with the organization. That is fourth most in the NFL. during that span. Green Bay drafted several impact players during that time period. They did especially well drafting quarterbacks, receivers and offensive lineman, areas the Patriots need a lot of help in.
Green Bay also drafted well in the middle and later rounds, finding impact players at multiple positions, especially receiver.
So when Wolf talks about the Packer Way and how they did things, Patriots fans and media alike should not dismiss what he is saying. It is not a slight against Belichick and the way the Patriots did business. The Patriot Way worked for a long time but eventually, things got stale and it was time for a change.
If you are going to change your philosophy, doing things that another successful organization did is not a bad idea. You can make the argument that Green Bay has drafted better than the Patriots have the past 15 years. Look the names on this list. It is not a stretch.
Wolf learned a thing or two from his Hall of Fame father Ron Wolf. The elder Wolf built a winner in Green Bay and his son could rebuild the Patriots into a winner as well if he uses the Packer Way. The formula worked for the Packers and it could certainly work here.
Just give it time.