With his seat hot this offseason, Eliot Wolf needed to get in the kitchen and fire up the stove to give the Patriots a chance to cook this season. And while it remains to be seen what the results on the field will be, Chef Wolf undoubtedly reconstructed the roster in the same way Jon Taffer does with bars.
First came free agency. The Patriots had the most salary cap at their disposal, and Wolf took advantage of it, scooping up players such as Milton Williams, Stefon Diggs and Carlton Davis III. Then came the draft, and the new regime addressed the glaring need at left tackle by selecting Will Campbell fourth overall, then further weaponized the offense with the selections of Kyle Williams and TreVeyon Henderson.
Wolf and Robert Kraft reconstructed the coaching staff, bringing in Mike Vrabel and Josh McDaniels. Experts believe the Patriots will be better in 2025, with some even thinking the playoffs. If the Patriots do make a postseason push, it's hard to imagine Wolf wouldn't be a candidate for Executive of the Year.
Sports Illustrated's Conor Orr agrees, as his 100 bold predictions for the 2025 season included Wolf being a candidate for the league's top executive.
If the Patriots make the playoffs, Eliot Wolf should win some postseason hardware
I'm calling it right now that if New England finds its way into the postseason, it would be a crime not to believe that Wolf should be crowned the NFL's top executive for 2025.
This roster was a complete mess over the last two seasons, as the Patriots floundered to an aggregate 8-26 record, which included the firing of two head coaches.
Wolf needed to get these offseason decisions right, and his first one—hiring Vrabel—was a no-brainer and, frankly, should have happened two offseasons ago. The subsequent reunion of McDaniels as offensive coordinator was just as brilliant.
He rebuilt the defense with the signings of Williams and Davis, among others, and restructured the offensive line with the signings of Garrett Bradbury and Milton Moses, as well as the drafting of Campbell. Drake Maye now has top-flight weapons in Diggs and Henderson, and Williams has had a great offseason program.
Wolf's father, Ron, is a Hall of Famer for a reason, and the younger Wolf certainly wants to shape the Patriots the way his father did with the Packers in the 1990s. The free-agent signing of Reggie White was the first building block to restoring Green Bay to greatness, so maybe New England's 2025 offseason can generate something similar.
Denver's George Paton and Brandon Beane of the Bills will be among the other top candidates, according to Orr, but those teams both made the playoffs last year. If New England can get into the postseason, this award is a no-brainer.