Patriots Hire New College Scouting Director

Patriots Appoint New Director of College Scouting
The New England Patriots have named a new leader for their college scouting department.

According to a Wednesday report from Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, the team has promoted national scout Tony Kinkela to the position previously held by Camren Williams, who left the Patriots earlier this offseason to join the Denver Broncos front office.

In his new role, Kinkela will work closely with Matt Groh, the director of player personnel, and Eliot Wolf, the executive vice president of player personnel. Together, Kinkela, Groh, and Wolf have formed a strong draft scouting team, which also includes input from vice president of football operations and strategy, John “Stretch” Streicher, and vice president of player personnel, Ryan Cowden.

Kinkela joined the Patriots in 2022 after spending 11 seasons as an area scout with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His work played a key role in helping the Bucs earn the Best Draft Award for their outstanding selections in the 2020 NFL Draft, which included offensive lineman Tristan Wirfs, defensive back Antoine Winfield Jr., and wide receiver Tyler Johnson.

Since arriving in New England, Kinkela’s expertise has contributed to the team’s picks of cornerback Christian Gonzalez, quarterback Drake Maye, and offensive lineman Will Campbell, among others.

Before his time with the Buccaneers, Kinkela was the Director of Football Operations for the Tulane Green Wave from 2006 to 2008. He also served as the assistant director of football operations at Washington State during the 2004-05 seasons. As a student at WSU, Kinkela was a student assistant for the football team from 2001 to 2004 and held various roles, including helping coordinate recruiting visits and overseeing the recruiting film system. He was part of Washington State’s teams in the 2001 Sun Bowl and the 2003 Rose Bowl and Holiday Bowl.

Kinkela’s appointment marks the second change in the Patriots’ scouting leadership this offseason. In May, the team hired A.J. Highsmith as their new director of pro scouting, replacing Patrick Stewart, who left the organization in February to become the University of Nebraska’s general manager.