Who had final say for the Patriots during the draft? Apparently, ownership

In the days preceding the draft, there was plenty of chatter as to whether and to what extent ownership is calling the shots in New England. Now that the Patriots are trying to fill their top football job in a manner that complies with the Rooney Rule, signs are pointing to the fact that Robert and/or Jonathan Kraft necessarily had final say on the picks.

Not just the first one, quarterback Drake Maye. But all of them.

The Patriots are currently looking for a new person to run the football operations. Whatever the title might be, that person will have final say over the roster and the draft. They waited until after the 2024 draft to start their search.

What about before the draft? When PFT recently posed questions to the NFL about the Patriots' search, a league spokesperson pointed to an article from Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald, which contains multiple facts attributed to the league via on-the-record communications.

This sentence stands out: "The Patriots were in compliance with the Rooney Rule before the draft because, per the league, there wasn’t a singular person in the primary personnel position, and because there were no changes to anyone’s title."

So if no one was in the primary personnel position, no one had final say. And if no one had final say, who had final say?

Common sense points directly to ownership.

And that's fine, if that's the case. Jerry Jones has been doing it in Dallas for 35 years. In most cities, however, ownership lurks behind football operations personnel who are accountable for bad picks with their jobs.

In New England, there are two explanations. Either Eliot Wolf had final say and the Patriots violated the Rooney Rule or Wolf didn't have final say and ownership did. It cannot be neither.

Again, it doesn't matter if ownership is calling the shots. In New England, the question currently takes on greater sensitivity against the backdrop of the Apple documentary that many regarded as a way to give ownership a share of the spotlight for the six Super Bowl wins during the Tom Brady/Bill Belichick era — and/or to throw a little mud on Belichick (as he joked at the Tom Brady roast).

The truth is that, in most if not all cities, ownership is involved at a minimum in the big decisions. Why shouldn't they be? It's their business. However, in the same way that owners collectively hide behind the Commissioner, many (if not most . . . if not all except Jones) individually hide behind their coaches and/or General Managers and/or whoever has the job that carries final say even if it's a pretty good idea to make sure ownership is on board with the manner in which final say is said.