B-
New England Patriots
The phones sank the Patriots this weekend: B-.
by BBB ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 19 picks
· 2 steals
· 12 reaches
You can lose a draft before you make a pick. The Patriots did it at the trade table, overpaying to chase players the board did not price nearly as high.
Reaching for Liufau left real value on the table behind him. A whole weekend of picks and quarterback is somehow still a want. The Colson steal is the beam this whole class leans on.
Add it up and it is a good, unfussy class.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a go-to option on the outside. Exactly the need they had to hit.
By-the-book stuff, T'Vondre Sweat at Round 2, Pick 11 squarely in line with his ranking. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Kingsley Suamataia in the 47th overall pick is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A quiet steal in slot 68: Junior Colson for less than the market said. A minor itch, scratched.
They went early on Dominick Puni in pick 79, and the value did not follow. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Brenden Rice in pick No. 84 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A market-rate running back, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Braelon Allen. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A straight-up fair deal on Zak Zinter at No. 103, value and slot in agreement. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Matt Goncalves at pick 105 is a conviction pick that outran the value. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They paid a round early for Blake Fisher in No. 110, more than the board wanted. It fills a real need, too.
The board had cheaper options than Justin Eboigbe at the Round 5 slot, and it noticed. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A reach for Jalyx Hunt in the 140th overall pick; a little patience would have been rewarded. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They took Luke McCaffrey at par in the 143rd pick, which is nothing to complain about. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A premium they did not need to pay, Dwight McGlothern a notch or two before his time. It adds depth where they could use a little.
They liked Marist Liufau enough to skip the value, taking him in pick No. 151. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
A tidy bit of business in Round 6, Pick 22, where Tip Reiman graded well above the range. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Michael Barrett at pick 222 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
They paid up for Josh Proctor at the 230th overall pick when waiting would have done the job. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Bub Means at the 234th pick is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.