Three recent Patriots picks highlight struggles in draft under Eliot Wolf

The New England Patriots have a new head coach in Mike Vrabel, who replaced the fired Jerod Mayo. But executive vice president of player personnel GM Eliot Wolf, the de facto GM, remains. 

In February, Wolf — who has a spotty record of team building — took accountability for New England's disappointing 2024.

"Last season, ultimately the roster, was on me," he said. "We were 4-13. Just didn’t get enough done,” he said, per MassLive.com. “Certainly the free-agency class didn’t live up to our expectations. The draft class, it’s too soon to tell, but we were expecting a bigger impact from some of those guys and we’re still hopeful they’ll get to that point.” 

Wolf acknowledged his failures, but there is plenty more for him to address as the NFL Draft approaches April 24-26. 

No GM is perfect in the draft. But the misses on these three picks — all fourth round or higher from either 2022 or 2023 — have set the Patriots back. 

Guard Cole Strange | 2022 first-round pick

Although the blame for New England's 2022 first-round pick can also be placed on former head coach Bill Belichick or director of player personnel Matt Groh, Wolf also deserves blame. 

At the time, Wolf was the franchise's director of scouting, making him responsible for evaluating incoming collegiate talent in preparation for the draft. 

Selecting Strange with the 29th overall pick surprised Rams head coach Sean McVay, who later apologized to the offensive lineman for his reaction.

Strange started in all 17 games his rookie season. Since then, though, he has been wracked with injuries. He played in 10 games in 2023 and three games in 2024.  

Strange' has underwhelmed with New England, failing to produce as a first-round pick should. He was selected over Colts LT Bernhard Raimann, one the league's best at his position. 

Wide receiver Tyquan Thornton | 2022 second-round pick

Thornton is another awful Patriots pick from the 2022 draft. He was selected in the second round, two picks before Steelers WR George Pickens. The two receivers could not be more different in talent.

In three seasons with the Patriots, Thornton — who was released in November 2024 and subsequently signed by the Chiefs — had 39 catches for 385 yards and two touchdowns. In three seasons with the Steelers, Pickens has 174 catches for 2,841 yards and 12 touchdown catches with the Steelers.