PALM BEACH, Fla. — Patriots coach Mike Vrabel took questions for 34 minutes Monday morning at the NFL Annual Meeting.

Executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf spoke to reporters here and there.

After all was asked and said, here were my top five takeaways from sunny South Florida:

1. And the pick is in …

Less than a month away from the draft, it’s almost time to place our final bets on whom the Patriots will pick at No. 4 overall.

As of today, I’m putting my chips on LSU left tackle Will Campbell.

Obvious enough, right?

Vrabel confirmed the Patriots view Campbell as a tackle prospect, despite his unusually short arms for the position. Vrabel’s declaration alone does not lock Campbell into the No. 4 pick. But the combination of Campbell’s tape, play demeanor (a new Patriots scouting staple), elite athleticism, football character, experience and recent pre-draft visit to Foxboro might.

The problem is, if Campbell succeeds at a Pro Bowl-level, he will become the first tackle of his size to do so in recent NFL history. No offensive tackle has made the Pro Bowl or an All-Pro team with sub-33-inch arms over the last 25 years, per Mockdraftable. Campbell’s arms measured exactly 33 inches at his Pro Day last week, while 77¼-inch wingspan was the shortest recorded by an offensive tackle at the NFL combine since 2011 (a measurement confirmed at his Pro Day).

The case for Campbell is simple: his other traits and sound technique allowed him to compensate for the lack of arm length in college and should again in the NFL. Traits like athleticism, core strength and flexibility, and teaching points like footwork and hand placement; the same things Vrabel named after his Titans drafted Northwestern offensive tackle Peter Skoronski (arm length: 32 1/4 inches) at No. 11 overall in 2023, before eventually moving him to guard.

LSU offensive lineman Will Campbell (66) warms up before an NCAA football game against Mississippi on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, in Oxford, Miss. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

So while I wouldn’t be willing to risk the No. 4 overall pick on Campbell becoming a historic outlier, the Patriots might. If they don’t, keep an eye on Missouri offensive tackle Armand Membou, another elite athlete who may need to change positions in New England after playing right tackle in college.

One final nugget: according to a team source, the Patriots’ front office during Bill Belichick’s final years – most of which remains intact today – cared less and less about arm length for offensive tackle prospects. So if Vrabel, the new man in charge doesn’t care, either, why would that change?

2. Barmore, slow and steady

It should go without saying, but let’s start here anyway.

Christian Barmore’s health matters more than his future in football. The two, in fact, are not comparable. If Barmore, who missed 13 last season due to blood clots, never plays again, he is still a giant success story.

Now, Vrabel told reporters Monday that he anticipates the 25-year-old defensive tackle will participate in the team’s offseason program starting April 7. That news, while certainly welcome, shouldn’t surprise. Barmore had already been working out on his own, and initial Organized Team Activities (OTAs) involve only workouts and classroom study. The real test should come in May and June, when the Patriots will start holding practices.

Will Barmore participate then? Hard to say, especially since Vrabel said the team has yet to finalize a complete plan for his return. Nonetheless, the fact Barmore is feeling better, as Vrabel said, is obviously great news.

Asked for details, one team source described the organization as “optimistic” about Barmore’s future; even if his path back to the field remains cloudy.

3. The quiet part out loud

New England Patriots vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf speaks during a press conference at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

A month after Wolf told reporters at the NFL combine he has final say over the Patriots’ draft picks, he seems to have changed his tune.

During an appearance on FanDuelTV’s “Up and Adams Show,” Wolf was asked which position Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter would play in the NFL. In his answer, Wolf said that decision – and the decision of whether to draft Hunter in the first place – would be up to the coaching staff.

“That’s a great question. And I think that if he’s available – which is a huge question mark – that’ll be up to the coaching staff to determine where he’s going to fit in, and also if we would even pick him,” Wolf said.

Wolf’s comments affirm what most have suspected inside and around the organization: the Patriots are Vrabel’s team. He has the power, regardless of whether he wants to own it publicly yet or not. Vrabel has only said he is comfortable with his influence over the personnel department and thanked Wolf and other front-office members for their hard work.

Of note pt. I: vice president of player personnel Ryan Cowden, a Vrabel loyalist and confidant from their Tennessee days, traveled to the Annual Meeting, where typically only head coaches, general managers and owners convene.

Of note pt. II: Asked about who will submit the team’s picks on draft night, Wolf was evasive during a Monday interview on 98.5 The Sports Hub.

4. Fresh eyes for an old problem

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If there was a consistent critique of Josh McDaniels’ offenses in New England, as it morphed over the years under Tom Brady, then for one season with Cam Newton and later Mac Jones, it was how difficult the playbook became for young receivers to learn.

Too many reads, adjustments and changes week-to-week. Might that change in 2025?

If so, credit may belong to new passing game coordinator Thomas Brown and wide receivers coach Todd Downing. Vrabel highlighted them both when asked how Brown, the Patriots’ first passing game coordinator in franchise history, would work with McDaniels.

“It’s good to have some outside eyes on the system, and the scheme. As Josh’s offense has kind of evolved, it kind of gets added on to the bottom,” Vrabel said. “I think what Thomas (Brown) can do, with Todd (Downing), is kind of look and get things cleaned up and put it in more of a bucket and be able to be a coach that’s learning it – how would they be able to teach it? I think that’s something that we always want to look at – how would we teach this to the players?

He continued: “Having those communications where maybe it was Josh took it for granted; these new coaches are like ‘I think they can hit the players’ brains a little bit better this way.’ Or ‘here’s how I’d like to coach it.’ And I think they’ve been able to clean it up.”

5. Quote of the Day

“We won March. We won March. Amazing. Which is something that’s comical, right?” — Vrabel on the Patriots leading the NFL in free-agent spending