B-
New England Patriots
The Patriots won the night they stopped Fashanu from sliding. Grade: B-.
by BBB ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 17 picks
· 6 steals
· 3 reaches
You can lose a draft before you make a pick. The Patriots did it at the trade table, overpaying to chase players the board did not price nearly as high. A dependable weekend that grades out a B-.
Fashanu at that cost is the sort of edge that compounds over a roster. Pearl has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced. They punted on interior defensive lineman, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
Stockpiling next year's capital is patient, if unglamorous, asset work.
Good work on the whole, with interior defensive lineman the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 9 they get a weapon on the perimeter. Exactly the need they had to hit.
You do not let an offensive lineman like Olumuyiwa Fashanu reach the Round 2 slot and blink. They did not. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Chris Braswell in the 38th pick is fair value, right on his grade. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Kingsley Suamataia is a better player than pick 68 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Xavier Legette at No. 75 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
No edge and no loss on Zak Zinter in Round 4, Pick 3; it is a wash and a sensible one. The roster fit checks out.
Taking Khyree Jackson in Round 4, Pick 5 is close to grand larceny; a cornerback that good had no business lasting this long. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Isaac Guerendo at the Round 4 slot is a conviction pick that outran the value. A need, and now a little less of one.
A straight-up fair deal on Johnny Wilson at the 122nd pick, value and slot in agreement. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Justin Eboigbe in pick 137 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Ben Sinnott at No. 139 is money in the bank, a tight end taken below his worth. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
No drama and no debate, Dwight McGlothern went about where he belonged in slot 157. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
Julian Pearl in pick No. 177 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. The roster reasoning here is anyone's guess.
The board had Cornelius Johnson higher than the 202nd overall pick, and the wide receiver fell to them anyway. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Jaylen Harrell in pick No. 203 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Caedan Wallace at Round 6, Pick 32 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Nice patience on Nathaniel Watson, who had no business lasting to slot 221. A minor itch, scratched.