B-
New England Patriots
The Patriots did the meat-and-potatoes work well: B-.
by pj_doucette ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 6 steals
· 2 reaches
Nobody had George Gumbs Jr. this high, and it is not close. The Patriots reached 66 spots to get him at pick 202. Nothing here to lose sleep over; call it a B-.
The Golday pick is the one they will point to when this weekend is judged. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped interior defensive lineman, which is a strange place to end up. On the needs board they went 5 of 8, with edge rusher the one that mattered most.
Add it up and it is a good, unfussy class.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 31 they get a three-down second-level presence, and a steal at that. Need was not the driver here.
They let D'Angelo Ponds come to them and pounced at pick No. 63. It adds depth where they could use a little.
They barely believed it either: Jake Golday still on the board at slot 95. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Ja'Kobi Lane at the Round 4 slot is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Justin Joly in the 131st overall pick is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Aamil Wagner in pick 171 is fair value, right on his grade. A need, and now a little less of one.
Logan Fano at pick No. 191 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Cole Payton at slot 198 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. It fills a real need, too.
A real head-scratcher, George Gumbs Jr. in the 202nd overall pick is miles ahead of his ranking. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Steal is underselling it; Jeff Caldwell at pick 212 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They did well to land Trey Zuhn III in Round 7, Pick 31, just ahead of his grade. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.