B+
New England Patriots
A sensible, unshowy class lands the Patriots a B+.
by BBB ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 20 picks
· 0 steals
· 8 reaches
The Patriots treated their own grade as gospel and everyone else's as noise, spending the 187th pick on Javontae Jean-Baptiste a full 30 spots early. Call it a sensible B+, earned the boring way.
The Xavier McKinney pickup adds a known quantity to a class of unknowns. Small wins on the phones, but wins all the same.
They left with edge rusher solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off. The hoard sets up next April more than it helps this September.
A competent weekend that does not make headlines and does not need to.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a go-to option on the outside. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Tyler Guyton at Round 2, Pick 2 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the offensive lineman. A need, and now a little less of one.
No drama and no debate, Chris Braswell went about where he belonged in No. 41. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A premium they did not need to pay, Kingsley Suamataia a notch or two before his time. The roster fit checks out.
Patrick Paul at pick 68 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Brenden Rice at slot 100 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They paid sticker price for Braelon Allen in the 103rd pick, and that is fine. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Maason Smith in the Round 4 slot is exactly on the number, no argument either way. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They took Spencer Rattler at par in pick No. 113, which is nothing to complain about. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They jumped the gun on Mohamed Kamara, taking him earlier than his grade liked. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Luke McCaffrey in pick 137 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Marist Liufau in slot 143 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
No edge and no loss on Dwight McGlothern in the 163rd overall pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
AJ Barner at Round 5, Pick 29 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A market-rate wide receiver, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Cornelius Johnson. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A reach for Myles Cole in pick 181; a little patience would have been rewarded. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A conviction pick on Joe Milton III at pick No. 186 that the board grades a round light. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Javontae Jean-Baptiste in slot 187, miles early. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They did well to land JD Bertrand in the 225th pick, just ahead of his grade. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
A reach on Josh Proctor in No. 228; the board had better options right there. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.