B
New England Patriots
The Patriots answered their biggest question with Daniels. Grade: B.
by BBB ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 25 picks
· 3 steals
· 12 reaches
After circling the position for what felt like forever, the Patriots committed. Jayden Daniels is the quarterback now, and the roster gets built to his timeline.
Simpson falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch. The Jean-Baptiste reach is the anchor dragging on the value grade.
A tidy weekend of work that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 10th pick they get a long-term answer under center at fair value. A real need, handled.
In pick No. 27 they get a difference-maker at receiver. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Amarius Mims slipping to Round 2, Pick 2 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They liked Chris Braswell enough to skip the value, taking him in the 35th overall pick. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Xavier Legette at No. 45 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A reach for Kingsley Suamataia in slot 50; a little patience would have been rewarded. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A market-rate running back, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Braelon Allen. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Cole Bishop in pick 104 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A premium they did not need to pay, Javon Solomon a notch or two before his time. It does not line up with the team's obvious holes.
Good price on Matt Goncalves in No. 118, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
The board had cheaper options than Mohamed Kamara at pick 120, and it noticed. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Theo Johnson at the Round 4 slot is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Isaac Guerendo at pick No. 127 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A need, and now a little less of one.
Justin Eboigbe in slot 129 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A reach on Luke McCaffrey in the 137th overall pick; the board had better options right there. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Marist Liufau well ahead of where he belonged. It adds depth where they could use a little.
They jumped the gun on AJ Barner, taking him earlier than his grade liked. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Taking Jaylin Simpson in the Round 5 slot is close to grand larceny; a cornerback that good had no business lasting this long. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
They paid sticker price for Dwight McGlothern in slot 163, and that is fine. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Jordan Jefferson at pick No. 168 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Layden Robinson at pick 180 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the offensive lineman. It fills a real need, too.
Javontae Jean-Baptiste at the 188th pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Value said wait; Josh Proctor in Round 7, Pick 6 says they were not listening. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They barely believed it either: Jaylan Ford still on the board at No. 227. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
They went early on Sam Hartman in Round 7, Pick 28, and the value did not follow. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.