The 2024 season for the New England Patriots did not go as they planned. Executive vice president of player personnel, Eliot Wolf, too put it bluntly at the NFL Scouting Combine in February, “Certainly the free agency class didn’t live up to our expectations, the draft class — it’s too soon to tell — but we were expecting a bigger impact from some of those guys.” In his first year, along with some internal reshuffling, the external additions did not show up much. OL Chukwuma Okorafor and Nick Leverett were out by midseason with WR K.J. Osborn. Then Sione Takitaki was released. But entering free agency, the Pats had a league-high $130M in projected cap space, albeit without a significant part of their front office to put that amount to work.

After two years of helping the Pats with scouting reports, their pro personnel director, Patrick Stewart, took up the role of general manager for the University of Nebraska’s football program. But this news broke when Wolf found the flaw in their preparedness, “Just some of the information that we got on some of the players wasn’t as thorough as it needed to be.” Now following how the New England Patriots shook things up in their front office earlier this offseason, Robert Kraft’s crew needed someone sharp to step in. Someone who can lead on the scouting side. And looks like they found their guy.

According to Albert Breer on X, “The Patriots have hired AJ Highsmith as their new pro scouting director, per sources. Highsmith is the son of Alonzo Highsmith, who’s New England EVP Eliot Wolf’s right-hand man—the two families are very close going back to their time in Green Bay.”

For context, via Neil Stratton, AJ Highsmith was the Titans’ Director of Scouting last season. He is “a former member of the scouting staffs for the Bills & 49ers.” With his entry in Robert Kraft’s franchise, “he joins his father, Alonzo, who is Sr. Personnel Executive in New England.”

AJ Highsmith’s journey has been a grind. After playing quarterback and DB at Miami, he didn’t go pro as a player but broke into the NFL in 2014 as a scouting assistant with the 49ers. He climbed up quickly, handling everything from roster evaluations to player workouts.

Then came a solid stretch for him in Buffalo for five years from 2019, followed by a quick stop in Tennessee. But after the Titans switched GMs, Highsmith was out after only one year. Now, he’s back in the mix and teaming up with his dad in Foxborough who the current Patriots senior personnel executive is– Alonzo Highsmith.

After AJ’s entry, it’s quite possible that Mike Vrabel’s team could link with the Chicago Bears for a potential trade, too.

Robert Kraft and Mike Vrabel could get a new member on the roster

As per Bleacher Report‘s Kristopher Knox, Robert Kraft’s team is interested in Bears tight end Cole Kmet. The reporter speculated, “The New England Patriots should be interested in Kmet if he becomes available. They need to put pass-catchers around second-year quarterback Drake Maye, and Kmet could be a long-term option for them at tight end.”

To be honest, tight end isn’t really a problem in Robert Kraft’s New England right now. Hunter Henry’s holding it down, and they just brought back Austin Hooper. So, on paper, the room’s solid. But here’s where it gets tricky – there’s no real spark. No big-play guy who can stretch the field or scare a defense. That’s probably why some folks, like Knox, are floating the idea of a trade for Cole Kmet. Hmm…. it makes sense on the surface.

The Bears just used the No. 10 pick on Colston Loveland, which could make Kmet expendable. But let’s slow down. Kmet’s numbers last season weren’t all that great. He recorded 47 receptions for 474 yards and scored just 4 touchdowns. And with both Henry and Hooper already under contract, adding him to Mike Vrabel’s roster now feels more like a logjam than a solution. Unless something dramatic shifts, Robert Kraft’s Pats are probably staying put and rolling with what they’ve got.