Kicking off
Patriots personnel chief Eliot Wolf held his pre-draft press conference on Monday.
Did he drop any clues as to the Patriots thinking in the upcoming NFL Draft?
Maybe.
It sure sounded like the trenches would be the focus early in the draft.
Wolf said he thought it was a "pretty strong draft" on the offensive and defensive lines.
If that plays out, it's a good place for them to start.
Offensive tackle and defensive end are two of the team's top priorities. Defensive tackle can also be lumped in after losing Khyiris Tonga.
Specifically, when talking about an edge rusher, Wolf may have dropped another clue.
"We could complement our room with some speed. I think that's evident," Wolf said. "Dre’Mont, Harold [Landry III], Elijah [Ponder] and some of the other guys we have, they all have their skill sets.
"We would like to get faster. Dre’Mont’s a guy that can play across the line, run games. I mean, he can sneaky beat you with speed, but that's probably not his bread and butter. So, that's an area that we're looking to try to improve the depth on the roster."
So speed rules.
Some of the faster edge rushers in Round 1, 2 or 3?
UCF's Malachi Lawrence, Texas A & M's Cassius Howell, Oklahoma's R Mason Thomas, and Texas Tech's Romello Height.
Lawrence ran a 4.52 40-yard dash, with a sizzling 1.59-second 10-yard split. Only Ohio State's Arvell Reese and Howell had faster splits.
It'll be interesting to see if the Patriots hold true and go with one of the above.
Here's some clips from the week:
