As head coach Mike Vrabel explained, the Patriots will primarily focus elsewhere this week.
On Thursday afternoon, the first group of NFL hopefuls will enter the arena to go through their on-field workouts in Indianapolis. But while they are the most popular part of the Scouting Combine, they are not the most important for the New England Patriots.
As head coach Mike Vrabel explained earlier this week, he has not made the trip just to watch players go through drills.
“The drills haven’t changed in 30 years, so [it’s] the same drills,” Vrabel said. “I just want to talk to these guys and get to know them briefly, see how they act in this setting. That’s important.”
The Patriots have met with dozens of prospects both formally and informally during the pre-draft cycle so far, including multiple at the Combine. The goal, as explained by Vrabel, is to get as much information as possible about each of them and see how they react to a pressure situation such as this.
“It can kind of go in any different direction,” he explained when talking about the interviews. “Really, we want to just see them in their authentic self and be genuine and honest. Let’s see how they respond and pivot in different questions coming from different ways.”
Those meetings take place behind closed doors, and some only become public knowledge until after the draft if at all. The on-field workouts, on the other hand, are the main attraction in Indianapolis this week and broadcast live for all the world to see.
Starting with the defensive linemen, linebackers and kickers on Thursday afternoon, each position group will go through a series of drills. Some if not all of the Patriots’ representatives — including Vrabel, EVP of player personnel Eliot Wolf, director of player personnel Matt Groh and senior personnel executive Alonzo Highsmith — will keep an eye on those as well, but they are a comparatively minor piece of the puzzle.
Then again, so is the Combine as a whole.
“This is just one small part of the process,” Vrabel said.
“We go from this to see who the other players are that we need to bring in, and who do we need to have on campus at greater length, or where we maybe want to send coaches and what exposure we want to have at pro days and interviews, Zoom schedule. So, this is just the first process to set up a plan for the rest of the spring until we get to April.”