This is the week you’ve all been waiting for, NFL analytic geeks:

Draft Week.

The first round is this coming Thursday night, and we’ll get a break from the very unfortunate Mike Vrabel/Diana Russini mess/hysteria to focus on what really matters more on the field: how the Patriots can improve on the field later this week into next weekend.

We return to the good ol’ days, the days when the first round of the draft was a big snoozefest for the Patriots in a lot of ways because they’d be drafting so late. And as the Super Bowl runnerup, New England picks at No. 31.

Now, in the Bill Belichick days, that would almost mean a guaranteed trade out of the round. The Patriots will be dealing away picks, because they don’t need all 11 that they have, including four in the sixth round. But we doubt they will deal No. 31 unless someone wants to move down and allows the Patriots in a deal to move up.

Patriots VP of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf was pretty honest when he met with the media earlier in the week.

. I’ve already heard that there’s – no one’s called us yet, but I’ve already heard that there’s teams that have been calling around looking to move up,” he said. “Kind of more on the front end of the draft, but I think we’ll just kind of continue to monitor it and see what happens.”

Yeah, no one is knocking down their door to grab No. 31. That kind of deal happens when a team in the second round wants to move out and grab 31 and give the Patriots that extra second round pick. Don’t shut the phone off yet, Eliot – keep it charged.

Wolf this past Monday identified how he viewed this draft. He can often be refreshingly honest:

“I think it’s a pretty strong draft on the offensive and defensive line,” he said. “Secondary, maybe not as much. Receiver and tight end are pretty good in comparison to some of the recent years. So, we’re excited about some of these opportunities, and there are some matchups to some positions of need for us.”

And no, there won’t be a trade for A.J. Brown; that won’t happen until June so the Eagles can cut their dead cap hit in half by waiting til June 1.

Wolf knows there are some options.The Patriots had a good draft with rookies contributing this past season; it’s hard to do it two years in a row but the good teams do it.

“We’re open to anything,” he said. “Whatever way we can possibly improve the team, we’re open to. We have 11 picks. Most of those are kind of later in the draft, but we do have some flexibility with those 11 picks. I think it’ll depend a little bit on how the board falls. If we view that there’s a player that whether he’s falling or there’s somebody that we think we need to go get, we’ll be open to those opportunities.”

There’s just no real way to figure out how things will shake out. Refreshing in one way, frustrating in another from a fan’s standpoint.

But 11 picks in a draft low on quality?

“I mean, I think depth is important, obviously,” Wolf said. ” I think the more picks that you have, the better chances you have of hitting on players. We have four sixes right now. If we had one six, it probably puts more pressure on us to have that player be successful.

“But yeah, I think every team is different in terms of where the depth is. I think we have depth at some positions. We’d like to improve depth at others, and I don’t think that’s unique.”

No it’s not. So let’s take a look at five players the Patriots might have a chance to grab:

Kayden McDonald, DT, Ohio State – He could be the answer.He was the 2025 Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year and hey, in Vrabel’s mind he went to the right school.

T.J. Parker, Edge, Clemson – Maybe not the main pass rusher but better in a complimentary role.

Denzel Boston, WR, Washington – A 6-4 deep threat, supposedly. Do the Patriots dare try this out again?

Kayden Proctor, OT Alabama – This dude has size – 6-foot-7, 350 pounds, at least. Coaches love big dudes, and he could be a perfect it.

Spencer Fano, OT-G, Utah – More beef, but he could at guard really help the run game as the Patriots want to be more physical.

There you have it.If we hit on one, well, maybe a front office job awaits?

Nah. We like this one. Enjoy Draft Week.

Tom King may be reached at X @Telegraph_TomK, or via email at tking@nashuatelegraph.