The New England Patriots scouting department and front office gathered last week to begin putting the final touches on their 2026 NFL Draft Board.
While work remains to be done with the draft less than 10 days away, the strengths and weaknesses of this year’s class have started to show.
“I think it’s a pretty strong draft on the offensive and defensive line. Secondary, maybe not as much. Receiver and tight end are pretty good in comparison to some of the recent years,” Patriots executive vice president
of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf said at the team’s annual pre-draft press conference Monday.
“So, we’re excited about some of these opportunities, and there are some matchups to some positions of need for us.”
Along the offensive line, the Patriots may be in the market for both tackles and guards, as Wolf reminded the draft is not just about filling immediate needs. While Morgan Moses is expected back this season, the team could look for a long-term successor to the 35-year old. They have shown interest in projected first-round tackle Max Iheanachor (Arizona State) in addition to meeting with some mid-to-late-round tackle options.
On the interior, Mike Onwenu is entering the final year of his contract, and New England has recently shown interest in projected top-50 guards Chase Bisontis (Texas A&M) and Emmanuel Pregnon (Oregon). The team also hosted late-round option Jeremiah Wright (Auburn) to the facility last week.
In the defensive trenches, the Patriots hosted Ohio State’s Kayden McDonald on a 30 visit after the defensive tackle led the FBS in run stuffs last season. New England additionally has a major need along the edge, where one specific skillset will look to be added.
“We could complement our room with some speed,” Wolf said. “I think that’s evident. Dre’Mont [Jones], 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.”
Behind the defensive line, Wolf pointed towards Day 3 as a strong spot to address depth needs at linebacker behind Robert Spillane and Christian Elliss.
New England currently has 11 draft picks in order to fill those needs, although the team is willing to move around the board for the right player.
“We’re open to anything. Whatever way we can possibly improve the team, we’re open to,” Wolf said. “We have 11 picks. Most of those are kind of later in the draft, but we do have some flexibility with those 11 picks. I think it’ll depend a little bit on how the board falls. If we view that there’s a player that whether he’s falling or there’s somebody that we think we need to go get, we’ll be open to those opportunities.”
