B-
New England Patriots
The Patriots robbed the room for Kilgore. Final grade: B-.
by pj_doucette ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 7 steals
· 1 reaches
This is the pick they will still be bragging about in July: Jalon Kilgore, the No. 104 name on the board, stolen at Round 4, Pick 25.
That safety hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. If Young pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about.
All told, a draft that does its job without fuss, and there is real value in that.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 31 they get a premier pass rusher, even if it was a touch early. The biggest hole, addressed.
Gennings Dunker is a better player than slot 63 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Somehow Elijah Sarratt was still sitting there in the 95th overall pick, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Jalon Kilgore at No. 125 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Jack Endries in pick No. 131 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Kage Casey at Round 5, Pick 31 is the proof. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They let Aamil Wagner come to them and pounced at the Round 6 slot. It fills a real need, too.
Jeff Caldwell at the 198th pick is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A quiet steal in the 202nd pick: Taylen Green for less than the market said. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A market-rate interior defensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Aaron Graves. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Eli Heidenreich at the 247th overall pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.