Kicking off
Mike Vrabel, his coaching staff and the Patriots brass descended upon Indianapolis this week for the NFL's Scouting Combine.
After a quick post-Super Bowl break, Vrabel & Co. are focused on the 2026 team and continuing to improve the product.
Between having another productive draft, signing impact free agents, and keeping a few key in-house free agents, Vrabel and personnel heads Eliot Wolf and Ryan Cowden have their work cut out for them.
They have needs to fill, most notably at edge rusher, offensive tackle, wide receiver, tight end, and safety.
Eliot, the team's executive VP of Player Personnel, says the team won't stand pat.
"We're going to explore every avenue to try to improve the team," Wolf said during his media availability at the Combine. "We filled a lot of needs last year and we're still building. We have areas that maybe we feel good about the starters, but maybe the depth is not where we want it to be.
"We have areas where we maybe need to add a starter. So, I think it's going to be sort of a holistic approach, and working together with Coach Vrabel, his staff, the scouting staff, Richard Miller and Matt Groh on the contract side, we're going to try to build this thing to improve the team as best we can."
Vrabel, speaking a day after Wolf, echoed those sentiments.
"We want to have a plan," Vrabel said, "and we want to bring in really talented players that we have a vision for, that we also believe in the type of character that they have as we build this team and improve on what we did this year."
It's doubtful the Patriots will spend as much as they did last year during free agency. But between landing key players on the local market, and the draft, it behooves Vrabel & Co. to continue making strides.
Here's some clips from the week:
