Eliot Wolf - Patriots open to trading No. 3 pick but like QBs, too - ESPN

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots director of scouting Eliot Wolf said Thursday that the team is «open for business» to trade the No. 3 overall pick in next week's 2024 NFL draft but would be comfortable staying put and selecting a quarterback from what he called a «unique» class.

Wolf described trade discussions with other teams as «ongoing» while adding: «We have some holes we feel like we need to fill in the draft. We're a draft-and-develop team; the more picks we have the better.»

Wolf, who has final personnel say in his first year of an increased role with the franchise, acknowledged that the Patriots have yet to receive a trade offer that would motivate them to deal the No. 3 pick.

The Patriots enter next week's draft with eight total selections, headlined by the third overall pick, and selections at the top of the second (No. 34) and third round (68). They have single picks in rounds four, five and seven, and two picks in round six.

Wolf, first-year head coach Jerod Mayo and the Patriots' staff has spent considerable time scouting quarterbacks, attending pro days for USC's Caleb Williams, LSU's Jayden Daniels, North Carolina's Drake Maye and Michigan's J.J. McCarthy. The team subsequently hosted Daniels, Maye and McCarthy on visits at Gillette Stadium, along with Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

Wolf said the team isn't locked into selecting a quarterback, but when asked how comfortable he would be picking one of the top three or four players at the position, he said: «I think we'd be comfortable with it.»

Wolf said hearing from teammates of top quarterbacks, which includes Oregon's Bo Nix, has particularly made an impression on him.

«Hearing how impressive they are as teammates, as people, as