Tag: Matt Groh

Patriots exec thinks team has ‘good idea’ of cost to trade No. 14 pick

The Patriots have a “good idea” of the cost of trading their first-round draft pick.

When it comes to the 2023 NFL draft, Matt Groh isn’t ruling anything out of the equation.

The New England Patriots director of player personnel met with the media on Tuesday and discussed the possibility of trading up or down with the No. 14 overall draft pick.

New England has been linked to several wide receiver and corner candidates, and they have even met with some of the prospects during the pre-draft process. It appears that they are doing their homework beyond just draft picks and could potentially trade up or down from their original spot.

As of now, they are obviously exploring all avenues.

A premium wide receiver or corner could be available with the No. 14 overall selection. The Patriots have a history of trading back in the first round of the draft. They most recently traded back with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020, when they gave up their No. 23 pick for Los Angeles’ No. 37 and No. 71 picks.

That was the year the Patriots selected safety Kyle Dugger.

They most recently traded up in the draft last season, when they traded their second and fifth-round picks to the Kansas City Chiefs for the No. 50 overall pick of the 2022 NFL draft. That selection ended up being wide receiver Tyquan Thornton.

One has to wonder what New England will do this year. At the very least, it appears they aren’t taking the possibility of another first-round trade off the table.

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Patriots executive Matt Groh seeing influence rise in the organization

Matt Groh continues to see his responsibilities increase within the Patriots organization.

New England Patriots special teams ace Matthew Slater’s new contract may indicate a rising influence of personnel, as Matt Groh is becoming more active behind the scenes.

Groh is currently in the Patriots director of player personnel, and he assists general manager Bill Belichick in making decisions within the organization. ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported that Groh signed Slater’s new contract.

Matt Patricia signed Slater’s last contract in 2021.

Groh has had quite the rise within the Patriots organization. He joined the organization in July 2011 as a scouting assistant. He worked his way up to college scouting director in 2021, before taking on the role of director of player personnel, prior to the 2022 season.

Groh most recently helped out with the 2022 Patriots draft class. The class received major contributions from the likes of Cole Strange, Marcus Jones, Jack Jones, Tyquan Thornton, and Bailey Zappe.

This latest contract news may signify a growing set of responsibilities for Groh within the organization.

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Patriots’ recent draft successes have Matt Groh written all over them

How Matt Groh helped the Patriots’ shifted draft philosophy

The New England Patriots had some questionable drafts from 2015-2019, leaving the 2020 Patriots void of Tom Brady and young talent, which forced Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft to uncharacteristically overspend in 2021 free agency to make the roster competitive enough.

Flash forward to 2022, and the Patriots find themselves as one of the more promising “rebuilding” franchises in the league. Although the Patriots aren’t contenders just yet, they have rapidly built the foundations of sustained success over the last few drafts.

No team will replicate what the Brady-led Patriots did, as that was a perfect storm of the greatest coach and greatest quarterback having both of their primes occur simultaneously, while also having a little bit of luck on their side.

After Brady left for a brand new pirate ship in Tampa, the Patriots’ roster had holes that were always there, but covered up by Brady’s efficiency and talent. Those holes are not cheap to patch, and the ship was sinking. Belichick had to spend in 2021 free agency and change the overall draft philosophy.

No longer could Belichick draft scheme fits or niche players. The Patriots needed talent across the board, and they needed it fast. Belichick and Kraft are both respectfully too old to sit through a rebuilding situation, waiting for these project players to grow. They need impact free agents and rookies to help lay the foundation for the next guy and Jonathan Kraft to have a successful franchise moving forward.

Bring in Matt Groh.

Before Groh was the director of player personnel in New England, he started as a scouting assistant in 2011, before quickly climbing the ladder to area scout in 2013, where he remained until 2018. In 2019, following the NFL draft, Groh was promoted to national scout and then director of college scouting in 2021. He filled a role that now Texans GM, Nick Caserio, held for a decade-plus.

Groh’s impact was felt as soon as he stepped into the national scout role, where he laid the groundwork for the Patriots to snag S Kyle Dugger and OL Mike Onwenu, who look like franchise cornerstones so far. In 2021, Groh led the charge to find the next franchise QB and decided on Mac Jones at No. 15 overall, following that up with DL Christian Barmore and RB Rhamondre Stevenson.

In 2022, the mentality was the same as when Groh began being more hands on in an effort to get faster, more skilled and tougher. For the Patriots, nine of the 10 rookies selected from that draft are on the 53-man roster, and another two undrafted rookies find themselves on the roster.

Not only are there 11 rookies, but six of those 11 have contributed to the 3-3 record thus far, an atypical approach from Belichick, who usually likes to “redshirt” rookies until they’re ready. That move alone signifies the faith the Patriots coach and Kraft have in this new draft process to get talent over fit.

They’ve settled on finding their fit later, while allowing the rookies to play meaningful snaps in meaningful football games.

Although Belichick makes the final decision, Groh has had his hands on one of the better draft runs the league has seen in the last five seasons with three consecutive drafts featuring multiple contributing players. Belichick has mentioned how their approach of the old has shifted to a more collaborative effort, and it’s time we start realizing it for what it is.

Belichick trusts Groh and the team to take on more of the draft and scouting responsibilities than anyone else during his Patriots run.

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Matt Groh bristles at suggestion Patriots reached for Cole Strange, Tyquan Thornton

The Patriots director of player personnel explains why the NFL draft isn’t “cut and dry.”

The New England Patriots received some negative feedback from fans regarding their decisions in the 2022 NFL Draft thus far.

Selecting Cole Strange in the first round was quickly labeled as a puzzling decision and fans couldn’t get over the timing of the pick. Many fans and pundits believed Strange would be available in the third round and Bill Belichick responded by saying he didn’t think Strange would’ve made it out of the second round. Belichick went as far as saying the Patriots may have drafted Strange with the No. 21 pick if they didn’t trade back.

Patriots director of player personnel Matt Groh backed that sentiment up and said “it’s really easy for people to say” what to do, but the draft is extremely fluid.

“It’s not all so cut and dry with where you think a guy is going to go, and you’ve got to look at what the rest of the board is telling you,” Groh said, via Boston.com. “If you value a player high enough, then you want that player to be a part of your team.”

Groh discussed the value that Strange brings, while discussing his toughness and intelligence in depth.

“He’s almost 6’5″, 300 pounds, and runs sub-5 seconds in the 40,” Groh said. “There’s not a lot of humans out there that are doing that, benched 225, 31 times. This is a really big, strong, tough, athletic guy. If you value toughness, which we do, you value guys like Cole Strange.”

The Patriots’ second pick was speedy receiver Tyquan Thornton out of Baylor, and there was some criticism surround him as well. Thornton is the fastest receiver in the draft with a 4.28 40-yard dash, but he doesn’t have the intangibles as some of the top receivers who were selected.

Many people believe Thornton is just a vertical threat with limited ability to run routes, and Groh contested that thought.

“He’s a little bit longer, a little bit leaner, but with his speed, he can certainly open some things up for us offensively,” Groh said.

The Patriots hit dire needs in the roster by drafting an interior lineman, wide receiver and cornerback. They have eight remaining picks to continue to build on that depth — and, it’s likely fans won’t agree with some of the decision ahead.

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Matt Groh shares simple philosophy on acquiring playmaking wideouts

Matt Groh has a succinct philosophy on acquiring talent.

As the New England Patriots begin to look towards the NFL draft, director of player personnel Matt Groh knows that time is of the essence when acquiring a star receiver.

The Patriots did so at the beginning of April, acquiring wideout DeVante Parker in a trade with the Miami Dolphins. Parker is coming off a 2021 season that saw him record 40 catches for 515 yards and two touchdowns. He enters a Patriots wide receiver room looking for additional playmakers.

In speaking with the media on Friday, Groh shared his philosophy in regards to acquiring impact receivers.

“We’ve got another good class of wide receivers this year (in the draft), and I think it’s just going to keep coming,” Groh said. “Whenever teams are going to add instant-impact players — which is what these wide receivers are in the game today — they’re going to do it. And you can’t just sit around and wait and hope to get these guys in the draft. You have to be proactive about going to get one of them (in free agency and in the trade market).”

The addition of Parker bolsters the Patriots wide receiving unit. Kendrick Bourne and Jakobi Meyers headline a group that looks to flourish in Mac Jones’ second year under center. With this draft being deep at the wide receiver position, the Patriots could potentially add to that positional group at the end of the month.

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Matt Groh reflects upon working with Bill Belichick: ‘Absolutely love it’

Matt Groh says he’s honored to take on a new role with the Patriots.

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Matt Groh has risen into the No. 2 role in the New England Patriots’ front office. With Bill Belichick coaching and serving as the general manager, he gets spread thin, which means he asks a lot of his coordinators and his director of player personnel, Groh, who the Patriots promoted this offseason.

Groh addressed how he’s felt about the promotion for the first time since taking over for Dave Ziegler, now the Raiders GM, this offseason.

“It’s great working with coach — absolutely love it. With all the input that he asks from us, and just getting his ideas, and the information that he has on these players through his different relationships across the country at different schools. It’s been fantastic. I definitely take it as a huge honor, given the people who I’m working with and the people who have sat in this chair before me, to Scott Pioli, to Nick Caserio, to Dave Ziegler — think a lot of all those people. And, really, to be in this chair is an honor, knowing that they’ve sat in it. And then, really, to be sitting here with all the people who I’m so fortunate to work along with.”

Groh rose up the Patriots ranks from scouting assistant (2011-2012), area scout (2013-2018), national scout (2019-2020), director of college scouting (2021) and into his current role.

“Yeah, it’s been great. Obviously, coach [Belichick] is the General Manager, coach is in charge. He’s been doing this a long time,” Groh told reporters during a videoconference call on Friday. ‘The more I can learn from coach Belichick and a lot of the other guys around here — I’m gonna do that.

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Matt Groh reiterates fact that Patriots need more speed on defense

Matt Groh harped on Jerod Mayo’s point that the Patriots need speed on defense.

One of the biggest needs for the New England Patriots this offseason is speed on the defensive side of the ball.

Jerod Mayo, who calls defensive plays, said it best at the end of last season.

“You always want to get faster, especially in today’s game. That’s at all spots, not only at linebacker or defensive line or in the backend,” Mayo said. “You always want to get faster, but what we covet here is just versatility and smarts, football intelligence. Those are things you definitely want to have on your team.

“Now, we have some guys who were new to the system last year which I expect going forward they’ll have a better understanding of that. Also through the draft and through free agency we’ll definitely look to get faster, look to get more explosive, and look to put more playmakers on the field.”

The Patriots re-signed Ja’Whaun Bentley — but, don’t have Dont’a Hightower, Jamie Collins and Kyle Van Noy (released) around at the moment. Linebacker was a specifically slow position and the Patriots started adding speed by trading for Mack Wilson.

New England will likely look to the draft to add speed and director of player personnel Matt Groh harped on that idea.

One of the best options to add speed in the middle level is to draft Georgia’s Nakobe Dean if he’s available.

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Patriots’ Matt Groh explains how the DeVante Parker trade came together

The Patriots didn’t instigate the DeVante Parker trade but they were “really excited to have” him.

New England Patriots director of player personnel Matt Groh said his staff didn’t instigate the trade for DeVante Parker. But he indicated he was extremely pleased with how the trade took shape.

Groh, who the Patriots promoted into their top personnel job (below general manager Bill Belichick), detailed the machinations of the deal earlier this month when New England traded a 2023 third-round pick in exchange for Parker and a 2022 fifth-round pick.

“Certainly, it got kickstarted on their end with them adding a different player (Tyreek Hill) and then where they were at with their wide receiver room,” Groh told reporters on Friday during his pre-draft videoconference call. “And then having the opportunity to add a great player to our roster. So they just weren’t going to be able to keep everybody.

“When a player became available, I would say Matt Patricia did a good job of being on that early and getting that information to us as quickly as he could. We were in on that early and it really came together well for us. Really excited to have DeVante here.”

It’s unclear whether the Patriots are done adding at the receiver position after Parker joined Kendrick Bourne, Jakobi Meyers, Nelson Agholor, N’Keal Harry and Kristian Wilkerson, among others. In fact, it seems likely the Patriots will part ways with at least one receiver: Harry, who demanded a trade last year and who has struggled in New England’s system.

Groh suggested any team interested in adding a receiver this offseason had to be extremely aggressive. That much was clear after Christian Kirk’s massive contract with the Jaguars and the trades involving Davante Adams and Hill.

“We’ve got another good class of wide receivers this year (in the draft), and I think it’s just going to keep coming,” Groh said. “Whenever teams are going to add instant-impact players — which is what these wide receivers are in the game today — they’re going to do it. And you can’t just sit around and wait and hope to get these guys in the draft. You have to be proactive about going to get one of them.”

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Bill Belichick explains how recently-promoted Matt Groh contributes to Patriots

Bill Belichick talked about the importance of Matt Groh

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New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick spoke about a notable personnel change on Monday. In a wide-ranging session with the media, Belichick touched on what newly-promoted director of player personnel Matt Groh means to the organization.

Groh spent last season as a college scouting director for the Patriots. He joined the organization in 2011 as a scouting assistant, and will now take over the role previously held by Dave Ziegler.

“Matt’s done a tremendous job for us. Very smart, very detailed. Obviously has a great football background with his dad, his family, growing up in football. Scouted multiple areas for us,” Belichick said Modnay via Matt Dolloff of 98.5 The Sports Hub. “He’s had multiple responsibilities, from area scouts on the west coast, to the southeast. Regional scout, national scout, and really put the draft together last year as the director of college scouting.

“With Dave [Ziegler] leaving, I feel like he’s the best person to step into the personnel job, and he’s done a great job. He’s as good as anybody we’ve had in that position.”

Ziegler left for Las Vegas to take on the general manager job with the Raiders. He was part of the group that left with Josh McDaniels, as the latter assumed the head coaching position for Las Vegas at the end of January.

Groh’s father Al most recently served as Georgia Tech defensive coordinator from 2010 t 2012. He also worked on the New England Patriots staff as the defensive coordinator/linebackers coach from 1993 to 1996.

Groh steps into the role having scouted the last two NFL combines for the Patriots. With the draft a little more than a month away, Groh could have a big part in the draft for the second year in a row.

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Bill Belichick, Matt Patricia and Matt Groh spotted at Georgia Pro Day

The Patriots had all hands on deck at Georgia’s Pro Day.

The New England Patriots had all hands on deck at Georgia’s pre-draft pro day.

Bill Belichick, Matt Patricia and newly promoted director of player personnel Matt Groh were all spotted. Georgia is coming off a National Championship victory and its defense was by far the best in college football. The Bulldogs defeated Heisman winner Bryce Young and the Crimson Tide in the title game.

The Patriots need talent at wide receiver and linebacker specifically and the Bulldogs have options for both. Speedy linebacker Nakobe Dean has shown up on various mock drafts to land with the Patriots at pick No. 21 and he would change the current mold for the position in Foxborough.

NESN’s Zack Cox laid out a list of potential players the Patriots could be looking out for.

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