B-
New England Patriots
Larceny in the Round 3 slot lands the Patriots a B-, Rodriguez and all.
by Jz ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 6 steals
· 2 reaches
The board owed the Patriots one, and it paid up: Jacob Rodriguez, the No. 74 name on the board, sitting there at No. 95 like a gift left on the doorstep.
The Patriots indulged a want in Lee III while a need in edge rusher, safety and other spots stayed open. For all the activity, edge rusher went untouched, which is hard to explain.
The cost of the Black reach is exactly the players who went right after him.
A workmanlike haul that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 31st pick they get a matchup problem out wide. The biggest hole, addressed.
A quiet steal in Round 2, Pick 31: Eli Stowers for less than the market said. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Circle this one: Jacob Rodriguez at slot 95 is a fall that decides a draft. A minor itch, scratched.
A tidy little value on Jalon Kilgore in No. 125, a step better than break-even. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
A curious use of the Round 4 slot. Edge rusher, safety and other spots needed the pick; a cornerback in Will Lee III did not.
Zane Durant at pick 171 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Kaelon Black in the 191st overall pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Value with a capital V on Ephesians Prysock in pick No. 198, a genuine coup. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Eric McAlister at the 202nd pick. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Value said wait; Eli Heidenreich in the 212th overall pick says they were not listening. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Trey Zuhn III in the Round 7 slot. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.