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With great power comes great responsibility, and Eliot Wolf will have both of those come Saturday of the 2026 NFL draft.
Amid news of Patriots coach Mike Vrabel's plans to seek counseling this weekend—a decision that comes on the heels of ongoing releases of photos of him and NFL reporter Dianna Russini spending time together on multiple occasions—Wolf, the team’s executive vice president of player personnel, will be in charge of manning New England’s draft room for Rounds 4 through 7 on Saturday afternoon.
In a statement from the Patriots on Thursday afternoon, the team expressed confidence in both Wolf and his personnel staff to “execute [their] draft as planned this weekend”—a sentiment that Vrabel shared while meeting with the media prior to the draft’s first round. Following New England’s selection of Utah OT Caleb Lomu on Thursday night, Wolf was asked about New England’s plans without Vrabel on day three, and acknowledged what they’ll miss without the head coach.
“The stability of him as a person,” he explained. “Some of the leadership, some of the presence. He does a nice job for us with the undrafted players. Obviously, he's a tremendous recruiter, so that's maybe something that we'll be missing. But again, we're very confident in the people we have with the process. The assistant coaches have done a tremendous job, as have the scouts, preparing for day three. And we're excited about it.”
MORE: What Mike Vrabel Said About Dianna Russini Scandal, Taking Leave During NFL Draft
Wolf also said that he’s “not too worried” about how things will operate on Saturday, and that he's confident the team will be able to contract Vrabel should anything arise. “It's going to be different without his presence there,” he added. “But we feel really good about the people that we have in place to make up for it.”
After using one of their two fourth-round picks (No. 125) to move up from pick No. 31 to 28 to select Lomu, the Patriots now have nine picks remaining in the NFL draft. Seven of which will come on Saturday, without Vrabel in the room.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Eliot Wolf Details What Patriots Will Miss Most From Mike Vrabel on NFL Draft’s Final Day.
