Streicher, by the way, is a walking, talking reminder of the Belichickian model. Working for Vrabel in Tennessee, he rose from special assistant to the head coach in 2018 to director of football administration five years later; the same title Belichick’s assistant, Berj Najarian, once held.

The chase for a No. 1 receiver has been an elusive pipe dream for the New England Patriots for years. Rarely has the team gone all-in at the receiver position, but that could obviously change with Bill Belichick no longer running things.