The New England Patriots’ football operations department has begun a slow move into its new headquarters at the New Balance Athletics Center adjacent to Gillette Stadium. Not all of the pictures have been hung on the wall yet, but the staff is already working out of the new setup, running through final meetings this week to break down NFL Draft prospects. The building is also home to a massive draft room, complete with a high-tech video board where the Patriots will organize their big board.

But that ranking of draft-eligible players isn’t done yet, even though the big day is just over a week away.

“I would say the hay is not quite in the barn yet,” Eliot Wolf said.

The Patriots’ executive vice president of player personnel took questions from reporters Monday ahead of the draft in a news conference that had been on the schedule for a month. He touched on wide receiver A.J. Brown, the strengths of this draft class and why he’s always looking for speedy players. Here’s what we learned.

Another A.J. Brown (non-)answer

The Patriots can’t escape questions about the oft-rumored trade for the Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver, and they’re not likely to stop until June, when the Eagles will be more incentivized to deal the 28-year-old.

But New England’s actions in the draft will likely speak louder than any answer Wolf gave Monday. If the Patriots select a wide receiver with one of their first two picks next week, the need for a player like Brown drops significantly. But if they’ve ignored the position through the first two days, eyes will turn again to Brown and the Pats.

“As far as players on other teams, again, going to keep the door open to anything that we think may improve our roster, whether that’s with the player you mentioned or other players,” Wolf said.

The draft’s strengths

Wolf previously said that this isn’t a traditionally great draft class, adding the caveat that the Patriots should still get good players out of it.

On Monday, he further broke down where this class should excel.

“I think it’s a pretty strong draft on the offensive and defensive line,” Wolf said. “Secondary, maybe not as much. Receiver and tight end are pretty good in comparison to some recent years. So, we’re excited about some of these opportunities, and there are some matches to some positions of need for us.”

The good news for the Patriots? They need help at edge rusher, tight end and wide receiver, and it’s a deep draft class at those spots. The bad news? They also need depth at running back and linebacker, and this draft class isn’t as good at those positions.

Vrabel’s involvement

A year ago, Mike Vrabel was very involved in the scouting process with the Patriots front office and helped as New England landed a successful draft class.

This year, Wolf said Vrabel may be even more involved. That’s because Vrabel doesn’t need to spend as much time with his coaching staff in Year 2, since it’s mostly the same group as a year ago, and he’s comfortable with how they work.

“He’s watched a ton of the players,” Wolf said of Vrabel. “I think he tries to watch every player that we give to each position coach. He watches the whole — they call it the coaches’ list. So, he has an opinion on these guys, and it’s helpful because sometimes there are players that the scouts like, me included, and he’ll be like, ‘Well, this is the reason that maybe this guy’s not the best fit for us.’ So, we can continue to compile all the information together.”

The need for speed

The Patriots have size and strength at edge rusher after signing free agent Dre’Mont Jones, who figures to start this fall. But as they head into the draft, likely set to use an early pick at the position, look for them to pick a faster, twitchier edge rusher as opposed to one who is more bulked up like Jones.

“We could complement our room with some speed,” Wolf said. “I think that’s evident. Dre’Mont, Harold (Landry III), Elijah (Ponder) and some of the other guys we have, they all have their skill sets. We would like to get faster. Dre’Mont’s a guy that can play across the line, run games. I mean, he can sneakily beat you with speed, but that’s probably not his bread and butter. So, that’s an area that we’re looking to try to improve.”

Some edge rushers who could be available with the 31st selection who would fit what Wolf mentioned? Oklahoma’s R Mason Thomas, UCF’s Malachi Lawrence, and Texas A&M’s Cashius Howell.