A-
New England Patriots
Nobody dealt better than the Patriots this weekend: A-.
by BBB ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 19 picks
· 8 steals
· 9 reaches
The best pick of the weekend was also the simplest. The Patriots watched Le'Veon Moss slide 90 picks past his grade and did not hesitate.
Every board in the league had Fatheree II lower, and that gap is the story. The trade ledger is the best part of the whole weekend.
The Patriots indulged a want in Campbell while a need in quarterback stayed open. They will regret leaving quarterback for another day if the season turns on it.
Bottom line, they did the job about as well as it can be done.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a problem off the edge. The biggest hole, addressed.
Steal is underselling it; Nick Emmanwori at slot 38 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Jalon Walker in No. 46 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
A curious use of the 69th overall pick. Quarterback needed the pick; a linebacker in Jihaad Campbell did not.
Jake Majors in pick No. 81 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Ozzy Trapilo at pick 83 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
The board had Elic Ayomanor higher than slot 105, and the wide receiver fell to them anyway. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They paid a round early for DeMonte Capehart in Round 5, Pick 2, more than the board wanted. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They robbed the room for Nicholas Singleton here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Dont'e Thornton Jr. in the Round 5 slot is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Jalen Travis at Round 5, Pick 28 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A wild overpay on Will Lee III in pick No. 168, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A minor itch, scratched.
Davison Igbinosun at the 170th pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
They barely believed it either: Smael Mondon Jr. still on the board at No. 187. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Joey Slackman. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Reuben Fatheree II in slot 222, miles early. The roster fit checks out.
Jake Briningstool in the 233rd overall pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A need, and now a little less of one.
Le'Veon Moss in the Round 7 slot should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It fills a real need, too.
By-the-book stuff, Garrett Dellinger at the 248th pick squarely in line with his ranking. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.