B
New England Patriots
The Patriots cashed the board's mistake on Corleone: B.
by pj_doucette ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 10 steals
· 1 reaches
Somebody in the Round 4 slot was going to get robbed, and it turned out to be the rest of the league. The Patriots sat still while Dontay Corleone, the No. 67 name on the board, slid all the way to them, then sprinted to the podium. Solid and sensible more than spectacular: a B.
The safety spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. They are betting Josephs proves the room right and everyone else wrong.
Bottom line, more hits than misses and a roster nudged the right way.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get juice off the edge, reach and all. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Caleb Tiernan at the 63rd overall pick is money in the bank, a offensive lineman taken below his worth. It fills a real need, too.
Jake Golday in the 112th pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Somehow Dontay Corleone was still sitting there in pick 125, and they pounced on premier interior defensive lineman value. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
De'Zhaun Stribling in pick No. 131 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They barely believed it either: Oscar Delp still on the board at No. 152. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Aamil Wagner at Round 5, Pick 31 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Febechi Nwaiwu in slot 180. The roster fit checks out.
A slide stopped in the 198th pick, with Jeff Caldwell worth more than the price. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Nothing to complain about; Cole Payton went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Circle this one: Domani Jackson at pick No. 202 is a fall that decides a draft. A minor itch, scratched.
You do not let a cornerback like Ephesians Prysock reach the 212th overall pick and blink. They did not. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
Steal is underselling it; Dallen Bentley at the Round 7 slot is a heist with the alarm still ringing. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
The board fumbled Aiden Fisher all the way to slot 247, and they scooped it up. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.