B-
New England Patriots
A respectable, level-headed haul for the Patriots: B-.
by pj_doucette ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 4 steals
· 3 reaches
It is the swing that defines the weekend: Jack Pyburn in pick No. 212, a good 70 spots before the room expected him.
Getting Muhammad where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class. The interior defensive lineman spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. They left with edge rusher solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off.
The offense got the lion's share of the attention.
Add it up and it is a good, unfussy class.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a go-to option on the outside at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
A.J. Haulcy slipping to slot 63 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Jude Bowry at pick No. 95 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A top-tier cornerback at a bargain, Malik Muhammad in the 125th pick, plain and simple. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Justin Joly at Round 4, Pick 31 is the proof. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They let Cyrus Allen come to them and pounced at pick 171. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They paid sticker price for Pat Coogan in the Round 6 slot, and that is fine. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
By-the-book stuff, Le'Veon Moss at Round 6, Pick 17 squarely in line with his ranking. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A wild overpay on Eric O'Neill in the 202nd pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Jack Pyburn well ahead of where he belonged. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Owen Heinecke at No. 247 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Where it fits the depth chart is the real question.