The board owed the Patriots one, and it paid up: LeQuint Allen, the No. 139 name on the board, sitting there at pick 234 like a gift left on the doorstep. It does the job without flash, and the B reflects it.
The Williams reach is the anchor dragging on the value grade. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher. They were the ones paying the moving tax this weekend.
It is a bet on later, and a defensible one for a team playing the long game.
Not a headline-grabber, but a perfectly good weekend's work.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.14
· Pick 14
· Josh Simmons
· OT
· rank 16
In slot 14 they get a building block for the line. A real need, handled.
R2.6
· Pick 38
· Emeka Egbuka
· WR
· rank 24
Emeka Egbuka at No. 38 is money in the bank, a wide receiver taken below his worth. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
R2.13
· Pick 45
· Marcus Mbow
· OT
· rank 51
Marcus Mbow in pick 45 is fair value, right on his grade. The roster fit checks out.
R3.5
· Pick 69
· Jihaad Campbell
· LB
· rank 40
Jihaad Campbell in Round 3, Pick 5 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A minor need, but a need all the same.
R3.13
· Pick 77
· Omarr Norman-Lott
· DT
· rank 74
Omarr Norman-Lott at pick No. 77 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
R4.4
· Pick 105
· Darius Alexander
· DT
· rank 132
This one needs a full-page explanation: Darius Alexander in the 105th overall pick, miles early. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
R5.6
· Pick 145
· Terrance Ferguson
· TE
· rank 120
The board fumbled Terrance Ferguson all the way to the 145th pick, and they scooped it up. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
R7.1
· Pick 219
· Nohl Williams
· CB
· rank 260
A wild overpay on Nohl Williams in the Round 7 slot, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A minor itch, scratched.
R7.4
· Pick 222
· Raheim Sanders
· RB
· rank 156
Raheim Sanders at the 222nd pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A need, and now a little less of one.
R7.16
· Pick 234
· LeQuint Allen
· RB
· rank 139
Taking LeQuint Allen in Round 7, Pick 16 is close to grand larceny; a running back that good had no business lasting this long. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
R7.22
· Pick 240
· Shilo Sanders
· S
· rank 258
They left a pile of value on the table to take Shilo Sanders this early at pick No. 240. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.