It was tough for the New England Patriots to escape the shadow of the Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini controversy during the draft. Vrabel confirmed to the press that he will not be attending the third day of the draft, choosing to go for a counselling session instead.  However, some confusing reports have emerged around his alleged involvement during the draft.

Vrabel was not in the Patriots’ draft war room this Saturday; that much is true. But ESPN’s Peter Schrager reported from sources that he and the team were in “constant contact” through calls and text messages. This led to some scrutiny from fans because this immediately contradicted Vrabel’s comments. Surprisingly, Schrager retracted his statement sometime later. He said that there were plans for Vrabel to be in contact with the team on Day 3, but the Patriots ultimately “chose not to interrupt him and his family.” The Patriots elaborated further on this turn of events.

“So last night, we kind of talked through things and made the decision that the time away really needs to be time away,” general manager Eliot Wolf said. “So we were not in contact with Mike today other than some, you know, ‘Just hope everything’s going okay’ kind of text early this morning,”

What complicated Mike Vrabel’s position during the draft was that a second set of photos involving him and Russini was leaked right before the key event, following which the head coach announced his plans to step away on Day 3. Vrabel is known to be a great recruiter, which is why his absence was a key storyline during this draft. Wolf himself said that the coach has a niche in picking some great undrafted talents. Looking at their draft strategy, the Patriots haven’t made any alarming picks which would require Vrabel’s immediate intervention.

They traded up in the first and second rounds, and picked offensive tackle Caleb Lomu and edge rusher Gabe Jacas, respectively. New England stuck to thier round three pick and went for tight end Eli Raridon, who might be a steal deal for the team. Next, they picked cornerback Karon Punty in the fifth round. On Day three, the Patriots chose to trade down from their 191st pick to the 196th, and got OT Dametrious Crownover. In the same round, linebacker Namdi Obiazor was also drafted. In the final round, the Patriots picked up quarterback Behren Morton, running back Jam Miller, and edge Quintayvious Hutchins.

Even though Vrabel was not in contact with the war room, his tips were still being followed by the front office on Day 3.

Patriots acted in line with Mike Vrabel’s plans for Day 3

A head coach’s perception of a particular draft prospect is always entertained by the team. That’s why, even though Mike Vrabel was away, the war room stuck to the plans he had already laid out. Wolf said there were discussions about the kind of players to be picked on this crucial day.

“We talked about what kind of players we needed to add. We knew what kind of players that he liked, and obviously we drafted some of the guys that he had an affinity for today.”

The Patriots selected six players on Saturday, all in an attempt to build depth in the necessary positions.  Even though Vrabel’s actual inputs were needed, Wolf implied that they leaned towards Day 3 being more of a “scouts’ day.”

“It’s the chance for some of these unheralded players to have the opportunity to get drafted, maybe some of the guys that some of the coaches didn’t even look at,” the GM added. Overall, he said it was “business as usual.”

The Patriots have also become busy in the UDFA class, signing 11 of them already. Now that the draft is over, and Mike Vrabel can once again be part of the action, we’ll see how he builds this roster with the scandal still looming above him.