B+
New England Patriots
A masterclass at the trade table lands the Patriots a B+.
by BBB ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 16 picks
· 10 steals
· 5 reaches
This is the pick they will still be bragging about in July: Raheim Sanders, the No. 142 name on the board, stolen at the 216th pick.
They are betting Truss proves the room right and everyone else wrong. The trade ledger is the best part of the whole weekend.
Leaving quarterback unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall. On the needs board they went 7 of 8, with edge rusher the one that mattered most.
Bottom line, more hits than misses and a roster nudged the right way.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 6 they get juice off the edge. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Nick Emmanwori in pick No. 37 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Derrick Harmon slid further than he should have, and the 44th overall pick is lovely value for the interior defensive lineman. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A conviction pick on Darien Porter at No. 69 that the board grades a round light. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Hollin Pierce this early at pick 80. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They reached into another round for Earnest Greene III, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. It fills a real need, too.
You do not let an offensive lineman like Jake Majors reach the 142nd pick and blink. They did not. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Steal is underselling it; Danny Stutsman at slot 143 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A minor need, but a need all the same.
They barely believed it either: Smael Mondon Jr. still on the board at Round 5, Pick 11. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Kevin Winston Jr. in the Round 5 slot is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Xavier Truss in Round 6, Pick 12 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
The board fumbled Le'Veon Moss all the way to pick 212, and they scooped it up. A need, and now a little less of one.
Somehow Raheim Sanders was still sitting there in No. 216, and they pounced on premier running back value. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Taking Elijah Arroyo in the 217th overall pick is close to grand larceny; a tight end that good had no business lasting this long. The roster fit checks out.
Jake Briningstool slipping to pick No. 220 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They paid a round early for De'Corian Clark in slot 247, more than the board wanted. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.