B+
New England Patriots
Best value of the weekend goes to the Patriots for Lew: B+.
by pj_doucette ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 13 steals
· 0 reaches
You build a draft on nights like this. Connor Lew had no business being available in the 191st pick, and the Patriots did the only sane thing and turned in the card. More right than wrong, and a B+ to match.
They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast. The edge rusher hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but edge rusher.
Pick-by-Pick
Steal is underselling it; Arvell Reese at pick 47 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Max Iheanachor at the 78th overall pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A.J. Haulcy in No. 92 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Eli Stowers in the 95th pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Gennings Dunker at Round 4, Pick 12 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Deion Burks at pick No. 113 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Circle this one: Jake Slaughter at the Round 4 slot is a fall that decides a draft. A need, and now a little less of one.
Somehow Emmanuel McNeil-Warren was still sitting there in slot 131, and they pounced on premier safety value. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They robbed the room for Drew Allar here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A offensive lineman of that caliber at the Round 6 slot is the definition of value, full stop. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Rayshaun Benny in pick No. 198 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A quiet steal in slot 202: Taylen Green for less than the market said. The roster fit checks out.
You do not let a quarterback like Cole Payton reach the 212th pick and blink. They did not. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Jadon Canady at pick 247 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.