Sunday Patriots Notes: Big questions remaining after the NFL Draft

Practice challenge

New Patriots guard Alijah Vera-Tucker is no stranger to going up against top-notch competition in practice. The former New York Jet spent the first five years of his career facing Quinnen Williams in practice, a challenge that he claimed has made him a better player overall. “It’s definitely a blessing,” Vera-Tucker said this week. “You’d rather practice against those guys than play against them. Quinnen Williams, definitely a top-five D-tackle in this league. I was very blessed to go up against him every day; he was most likely the best D-tackle I was going up against all year.” Now in New England, Vera-Tucker will be facing a similar challenge in the former of Milton Williams and Christian Barmore. “I think they bring a lot to the table,” he said. “We all saw what Milton brought last year. I’m just blessed to be practicing and getting better with them instead of playing them.”

Mike Vrabel rumor mill

The Patriots’ head coach has been in the spotlight ever since photos of him and NFL reporter Dianna Russini at a adults-only resort in Arizona were published by the New York Post last month. Russini has since lost her job, while Vrabel entered counseling and missed the third day of the NFL Draft as a result. Those are the facts we know for certain, but a lack of information has not stopped the rumor mill from working overtime. One of the latest rumors mentions the Kraft Family considering Mike Tomlin as a potential replacement should Vrabel’s situation become untenable for one reason or another. The Krafts doing their due diligence would make sense, and Tomlin is as experienced a coach as you would find on the free agent market. That being said, the odds of such a transition happening — questions about the veracity of the report by the Daily Mail notwithstanding — still look fairly low. Unless his personal life starts impacting his performance as head coach of the Patriots, it would be a surprise if any changes were made in the near future. The Kraft Family still seems to be very much committed to Vrabel regardless of the whole affair and its fallout.

Draft pick signings start early

Even though it has not been made official yet, the Patriots have reportedly signed the first member of their 2026 draft class: cornerback Karon Prunty put his signatuer under his four-year rookie deal this week. Prunty’s signing comes early when compared to New England’s recent history. According to salary cap expert Miguel Benzan, the earliest signing date for a drafted rookie since the introduction of the rookie wage scale in 2011 has been May 5. Prunty has beaten that by multiple days.

Farewell to a franchise legend

With the calendar turning from April to May, the Patriots are officially in the final days of Nancy Meier’s impressive career with the organization. Originally joining the team as administrative assistant in 1974, she was hired to work full-time in the scouting department the following October. Through the years, she became an irreplaceable part of the operation and most recently served as director of scouting administration, a role that focused logistical matters for coaches, scouts, signings, draft picks and tryouts as well as communication with the league. During her time with the Patriots, the 70-year-old worked in two different facilities, saw three ownership changes, 11 head coaches, and hundreds of players — including multiple Hall of Famers — coming and going. She also is among a select group of people owning six Super Bowl rings from the franchise’s dynasty days, and has been part of 27 of the team’s 28 playoff seasons. Given her impressive résumé, the Patriots honored her during the NFL Draft. “I just wanted to acknowledge Nancy Meier,” Eliot Wolf later said. “Her final draft here, unless she wants to come back and help us again next year part-time, but obviously a tremendous asset to our team. Fifty-one years, 52 drafts, I think it is. She’s just a tremendous ambassador for our program.”

Gronk paying tribute

Rob Gronkowski was announced as the latest Patriots Hall of Famer this week after he beat out guard Logan Mankins and kicker Adam Vinatieri in a fan vote over the last month. Speaking to the media after the announcement was made, he made sure to pay tribute to his fellow finalists. “Those are two players that I looked up to,” Gronkowski said. “Logan Mankins, I looked up to when I got into the Patriots organization. He was such a badass player. He’s just so brutally strong. He could just take his opponents on the defensive line and just toss them and move them in the trenches, whatever way he needs to. It’s just a guy that is deserving to be in the Patriots Hall of Fame. There is no doubt about that. I need to see him go in in the future. “And also, with Adam Vinatieri, he’s just as deserving as well, to be a Patriots Hall of Famer in the future. And it’s just the way that it has worked out. He’s in the [Pro] Football Hall of Fame right now, but he will be in the Patriots Hall of Fame.”

Hall of Fame outlook

Even though both Logan Mankins and Adam Vinatieri have had careers worthy of Patriots Hall of Fame recognition, their candidacies will continue to face challenges. The next two years, for example, will see some immensely popular longtime franchise cornerstones become eligible: Devin McCourty and Dont’a Hightower will enter the mix in 2027, with Matthew Slater following the year after. “It’s just unfortunate just one guy goes in at once,” said Gronkowski. As a result, there is no end in sight for Mankins’ and Vinatieri’s Hall of Fame wait.

Rave facility reviews

The Patriots upgraded their headquarters this year, including their training facility. And the early impression on the team’s players is a good one, as verbalized by team captain Robert Spillane earlier this week. “It’s beautiful,” Spillane said. “They obviously didn’t spare a dime when it comes to this place. State-of-the-art weight room, training facilities, aquatic center. It’s really a place that I love. I’ve been here throughout the offseason, so I’ve been here for a few weeks now and it’s a nice place to be. They serve high-end food in the cafeteria, they take care of us every way. I’m grateful to be here.”

New digit for Kyle Williams

The Patriots wide receiver room will look different this year, and so will one of its members: second-year wideout Kyle Williams is going to wear a new number in 2026. After donning No. 18 as a rookie, he has now switched to No. 8, the one last worn by since-released wide receiver Stefon Diggs. For Williams, the move marks a return to single digits after he wore No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, during his college career at UNLV and Washington State.

Week ahead

As noted above, the NFL remains busy even with the draft in the rear-view mirror. For the Patriots, there are two primary items on the calendar this week: the second phase of the voluntary offseason workout program, which will start on Monday, as well as rookie minicamp set to take place between Friday and Sunday. In between, the expectation is that some players will be made available for the media. The current schedule has two yet-to-be-named players listed for both Tuesday and Thursday. Thursday will also mark the arrival of the draft class, including a possible photo-op with first-round draft choice Caleb Lomu.