Jonathan Kraft reportedly "heavily involved" as Patriots weigh options -- and field trade calls -- for No. 3 pick

BOSTON -- When the Patriots and Bill Belichick decided to part ways, director of scouting Eliot Wolf slid into the role of the team's main decision-maker. But Patriots team president Jonathan Kraft is also "heavily involved" in making the big decisions in New England, according to The Athletic's Diana Russini.

Wolf, 42, is New England's de facto general manager and has said that he has "final say" when it comes to who the team will be drafting this year. And this is a massive draft for the Patriots, who will get a chance to choose between quarterbacks Jayden Daniels, Draft Maye, and J.J. McCarthy with that third overall selection come Thursday night. 

Or the Patriots could trade out, which Wolf hinted at last week, saying the Patriots were "open for business" if teams wanted to try to blow them away with a trade offer. On Monday, Russini reported that the Pats are listening and taking calls on that third overall pick. 

And when a decision is made one way or another, it sounds like Jonathan Kraft will have a hand in it. A pretty heavy hand at that.

Pats owner Robert Kraft has made it a point a number of times this offseason to say that ownership will not get involved with football decisions. New head coach Jerod Mayo said at the owner's meetings that the team belongs to the Kraft family, but added that the owners "have entrusted Eliot and myself to put this thing back together." 

Considering the third overall pick is one of the biggest decision of the Kraft's ownership, the owners will likely have some say in the matter. You just don't want a meddling owner with too much say, because then things get real messy.

ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss and former Patriots tight end and WEEI midday host Christian Fauria discussed the power dynamic in New England on Sunday night's Sports Final on WBZ-TV (you can watch their full discussion in the video above), and both believe that Wolf will be making the final decision come Thursday night.

"Jonathan Kraft is not making a call on who the football quarterback should be," said Reiss, who believes the Pats will stay put and draft a quarterback at No. 3. "I would say that if it's even between a quarterback and a wide receiver, that is maybe when ownership comes in and says, 'Let's [pick] the quarterback.' I think it's more putting a period on the end of a sentence than making a decision."

"Eliot Wolf is going to make the decision, and you would hope they all agree on it and there is no tension brewing," said Fauria, who added that he would like to see the Pats trade out of the third overall pick. "In the end, someone has to bang their fist on the desk and fight for the guy they believe in."

The 2024 NFL Draft kicks off Thursday night at 8 p.m. in Detroit.