C+
New England Patriots
Larceny in the 34th overall pick lands the Patriots a C+, Verse and all.
by BBB ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 17 picks
· 4 steals
· 8 reaches
Somebody took the Patriots to the cleaners. The deals they made bled real value, and the whole class wears it. It washes out to a C+, no better and no worse.
If Rice pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about. Verse falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch. A whole weekend of picks and interior defensive lineman is somehow still a want.
The future picks help the war chest more than the win-now roster.
Hit on Rome Odunze and the swing picks, and this ages a lot better than it grades today.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 10 they get a difference-maker at receiver at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
They will replay Jared Verse at pick No. 34 for years; that is how good the value is. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Edgerrin Cooper in pick 58. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Blake Fisher. It fills a real need, too.
Value said wait; Brenden Rice in the 76th pick says they were not listening. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Calen Bullock in Round 3, Pick 25 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Dominick Puni slid further than he should have, and Round 4, Pick 3 is lovely value for the offensive lineman. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Will Shipley at the Round 4 slot is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A conviction pick on Javon Foster at the 111th overall pick that the board grades a round light. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Theo Johnson at pick 113 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. The roster fit checks out.
A reach for Isaac Guerendo in No. 121; a little patience would have been rewarded. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Justin Eboigbe at slot 137 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Marist Liufau. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
Jarrian Jones at pick No. 157 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A minor need, but a need all the same.
A reach on Cornelius Johnson in the 177th pick; the board had better options right there. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Julian Pearl in the Round 6 slot is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. Not a spot anyone had flagged, which makes it a head-scratcher.
Trevin Wallace at slot 231 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.