Eliot Wolf explains thinking behind Patriots’ moves on Day 2 of the NFL Draft

New England added a wide receiver and an offensive tackle Friday.

After selecting quarterback Drake Maye with their first-round selection, New England Patriots’ director of scouting had one main goal for the rest of the draft: support the rookie quarterback.

“We need to add some weapons to the offense. We need to shore up the offensive line,” Wolf said Thursday. “We have good players already at those positions but really just increasing the depth and the competition. Like Jerod [Mayo] mentioned, that competition is going to be at every position.”

As Wolf is now set to depart Gillette Stadium at the conclusion of Day 2, he accomplished his goal as New England drafted wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk and offensive tackle Caedan Wallace.

“It fell really nicely for us. Polk was a guy we targeted, Wallace was a guy we had targeted,” Wolf explained. “Some exploratory conversations about possibly moving back from 68 and then it was just kind of like ‘Why? This is the guy we had wanted all along.’ Sometimes it doesn’t fall for you. It feel pretty nicely for us today.”

After not moving back from No. 68 due to a run of offensive tackles, New England opted to select Wallace to help bolster their offensive line. An experienced tackle with 40 career collegiate starts, Wallace spent the majority of time along the right side at Penn State. The Patriots, however, feel he is more than capable of making a switch to the blind side.

“He was a guy that we felt was athletic enough to possibly make the switch over on the left side. Really good pass protector, really took a huge step forward this year as a four-year starter,” Wolf said following the pick. “Athletic, can bend, strong, powerful, tough. He could possibly play guard. We think he could be a four-position guy, but definitely feel like he can play on the left side.”

As for Polk, New England was set to take their new receiver at pick No. 34 before eventually trading back with the Los Angeles Chargers and landing him three spots later — a calculated move they knew would pay off based off the intel they received around the league. Once the maneuver worked out, the Patriots were thrilled to add receiver to their room.

“He’s a guy that we had our eye on for a while. He’s a really good fit in our offense,” Wolf explained. “He’s really tough, he’s strong, he can run all the routes, play inside-outside. He’s a good blocker. He’s really competitive, both for the ball in the air and as a run-after-catch player.

“He’s really just kind of a versatile, do-everything type guy. He ran a little bit faster than a lot of people expected, but when you turn the tape on, you see him running by people. So, definitely excited to add him to the mix.”

New England wraps up Day 2 with the three biggest needs checked off on their roster in quarterback, wide receiver and offensive tackle. Now, Wolf and Co. will turn to the final day of the draft where they currently have five selections remaining to add to the roster.