B
New England Patriots
The Patriots won the night they stopped Lee III from sliding. Grade: B.
by pj_doucette ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 11 steals
· 1 reaches
Somebody in pick No. 171 was going to get robbed, and it turned out to be the rest of the league. The Patriots sat still while Will Lee III, the No. 118 name on the board, slid all the way to them, then sprinted to the podium. It nets out to a B, which feels about right.
The cost of the O'Neill reach is exactly the players who went right after him. They punted on safety, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
They robbed the room for Kayden McDonald here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Somehow Kenyon Sadiq was still sitting there in No. 63, and they pounced on premier tight end value. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
CJ Allen at Round 3, Pick 10 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
A top-tier wide receiver at a bargain, Germie Bernard in pick No. 95, plain and simple. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Sam Hecht at the 125th pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A need, and now a little less of one.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Justin Joly at the 131st overall pick is the proof. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They barely believed it either: Will Lee III still on the board at pick 171. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Aamil Wagner at the Round 6 slot is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. The roster fit checks out.
The board fumbled Eric Rivers all the way to slot 198, and they scooped it up. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A tidy bit of business in the 202nd overall pick, where Dallen Bentley graded well above the range. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Value said wait; Eric O'Neill in Round 6, Pick 31 says they were not listening. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Eli Heidenreich is a better player than pick 247 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.