B
New England Patriots
The steal of the weekend belongs to the Patriots and Ponds: B.
by pj_doucette ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 10 steals
· 0 reaches
You build a draft on nights like this. D'Angelo Ponds had no business being available in the 125th pick, and the Patriots did the only sane thing and turned in the card. They moved the roster forward and banked a B for it.
That edge rusher hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. The roster is better shaped than it was, with wide receiver chief among the fixes.
The offense got the lion's share of the attention.
Nothing here to lose sleep over, and plenty to feel decent about.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 31 they get a difference-maker at receiver at a price that makes it sweeter. The biggest hole, addressed.
Eli Stowers in the Round 2 slot lands just on the right side of the ledger. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They robbed the room for A.J. Haulcy here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Somehow D'Angelo Ponds was still sitting there in No. 125, and they pounced on premier cornerback value. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
They will replay Christen Miller at pick No. 131 for years; that is how good the value is. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Oscar Delp at slot 171 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It fills a real need, too.
Parker Brailsford in the 191st pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A top-tier tight end at a bargain, Eli Raridon in Round 6, Pick 17, plain and simple. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Circle this one: Aamil Wagner at slot 202 is a fall that decides a draft. The roster fit checks out.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Cole Payton at the Round 6 slot. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
You do not let a quarterback like Sawyer Robertson reach No. 247 and blink. They did not. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.