C+
New England Patriots
Grand theft in the 231st overall pick: the Patriots steal Chambers and grade out a C+.
by BBB ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 20 picks
· 3 steals
· 5 reaches
The best pick of the weekend was also the simplest. The Patriots watched Steele Chambers slide 32 picks past his grade and did not hesitate.
Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere. The Proctor pick is the one the value grade keeps tripping over. It is a bet on later, and a defensible one for a team playing the long game.
Edge rusher was the priority and it is no longer a question, which is most of the job.
If Laiatu Latu and a couple of the gambles land, hindsight will be kinder than this grade.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 13 they get a premier pass rusher at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
In the Round 1 slot they get a blindside protector. A clean fit for the roster.
Jer'Zhan Newton in the 34th overall pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Patrick Paul in No. 68 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They took Austin Booker at par in pick 77, which is nothing to complain about. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A market-rate wide receiver, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Brenden Rice. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Khyree Jackson at slot 100 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
No edge and no loss on Will Shipley in Round 4, Pick 3; it is a wash and a sensible one. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A reach on Blake Fisher in No. 104; the board had better options right there. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Johnny Wilson at slot 129 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They jumped the gun on Luke McCaffrey, taking him earlier than his grade liked. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A reach for Marist Liufau in the 157th pick; a little patience would have been rewarded. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Nothing to complain about; Dwight McGlothern went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
No drama and no debate, Tip Reiman went about where he belonged in Round 6, Pick 2. A need, and now a little less of one.
They liked Cornelius Johnson enough to skip the value, taking him in pick 180. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Myles Cole at the Round 6 slot is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They paid sticker price for Jared Wiley in the 208th pick, and that is fine. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Josh Proctor in the Round 7 slot is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They barely believed it either: Joe Milton III still on the board at Round 7, Pick 10. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Taking Steele Chambers in the 231st overall pick is close to grand larceny; a linebacker that good had no business lasting this long. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.