B
New England Patriots
Thieneman should have been long gone. The Patriots pounced, and earned a B.
by pj_doucette ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 12 steals
· 0 reaches
The Patriots did not reach, did not trade up, did not blink. They just waited, and Dillon Thieneman fell into the 125th pick. Solid and sensible more than spectacular: a B.
Leaving edge rusher unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall. The roster is better shaped than it was, with wide receiver chief among the fixes.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the edge rusher spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 31 they get a go-to option on the outside, outstanding value to boot. Exactly the need they had to hit.
The board fumbled CJ Allen all the way to the 63rd overall pick, and they scooped it up. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Christen Miller at pick No. 95 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Dillon Thieneman in slot 125 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Joe Royer slipping to Round 4, Pick 31 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. The roster fit checks out.
Taking Ar'maj Reed-Adams in the 187th pick is close to grand larceny; an offensive lineman that good had no business lasting this long. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Febechi Nwaiwu in the Round 6 slot is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They barely believed it either: Domani Jackson still on the board at No. 198. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Marlin Klein in No. 202 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Steal is underselling it; Taylen Green at the 209th pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
You do not let a linebacker like Kaleb Elarms-Orr reach pick 212 and blink. They did not. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
They robbed the room for Seth McGowan here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It patches a soft spot without any drama.