C
New England Patriots
The Patriots bet the future on McCarthy. The board says C.
by BBB ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 25 picks
· 1 steals
· 12 reaches
Start where it matters. The Patriots took J.J. McCarthy to run the offense for the next decade, and every other decision this weekend bends around that one.
The Eboigbe reach is the anchor dragging on the value grade. Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere.
That is an edge rusher worth more than the slot they spent on him, plainly.
It grades out a shrug today, with plenty of room to move either way.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 4 they get a building block for the line. A real need, handled.
In the Round 1 slot they get a franchise quarterback at fair value. A clean fit for the roster.
Xavier Legette at Round 2, Pick 2 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Chris Braswell at the 57th pick is money in the bank, a edge rusher taken below his worth. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They paid sticker price for Kingsley Suamataia in the 63rd overall pick, and that is fine. The roster fit checks out.
The board had cheaper options than Maason Smith at pick 101, and it noticed. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Brenden Rice at slot 102 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the wide receiver. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A reach for Javon Solomon in pick No. 103; a little patience would have been rewarded. It does not line up with the team's obvious holes.
A straight-up fair deal on Matt Goncalves at Round 4, Pick 14, value and slot in agreement. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Elijah Jones in No. 117 is fair value, right on his grade. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Isaac Guerendo at the 118th overall pick is a conviction pick that outran the value. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Justin Eboigbe in pick 119 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
No edge and no loss on James Williams in the Round 4 slot; it is a wash and a sensible one. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Luke McCaffrey in slot 129 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Jalyx Hunt at the 132nd pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Marist Liufau at pick No. 137 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Kitan Oladapo in No. 142 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They left a pile of value on the table to take AJ Barner this early at pick No. 154. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Jared Wiley in the 155th overall pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
No drama and no debate, Dwight McGlothern went about where he belonged in Round 5, Pick 24. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
They talked themselves into Joe Milton III at slot 180, and the board did not agree. It fills a real need, too.
They took Myles Cole at par in pick 193, which is nothing to complain about. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Julian Pearl in the Round 6 slot is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. A need, and now a little less of one.
Frank Gore Jr. at the 226th pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They liked Josh Proctor enough to skip the value, taking him in the 234th overall pick. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.