B+
New England Patriots
The Patriots worked the phones like thieves and earned a B+.
by BBB ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 21 picks
· 8 steals
· 7 reaches
Call it a hunch or call it a gamble, but the Patriots spent Round 5, Pick 8 on Jordan Jefferson, a name most had 41 spots down the list. It nets out to a B+, which feels about right.
On value alone, Johnson makes the weekend a net positive. The trade ledger is the best part of the whole weekend. The Patriots indulged a want in Jones while a need in edge rusher stayed open.
They punted on edge rusher, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
Nothing here to lose sleep over, and plenty to feel decent about.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 3 they get a matchup problem out wide. The biggest hole, addressed.
They let Brian Thomas Jr. come to them and pounced at the 38th pick. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Nice patience on Bo Nix, who had no business lasting to the 39th overall pick. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
No edge and no loss on Kingsley Suamataia in No. 57; it is a wash and a sensible one. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Circle this one: T.J. Tampa at pick 69 is a fall that decides a draft. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Patrick Paul in the Round 3 slot is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A need, and now a little less of one.
Calen Bullock at the 103rd overall pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A straight-up fair deal on Cole Bishop at the 106th pick, value and slot in agreement. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They paid sticker price for Matt Goncalves in Round 4, Pick 10, and that is fine. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Isaac Guerendo at pick 114 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Of all the spots to shop, they chose cornerback. Elijah Jones in slot 125 leaves edge rusher for later.
They talked themselves into Marist Liufau at pick No. 137, and the board did not agree. A minor itch, scratched.
Jared Wiley at No. 142 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. The roster fit checks out.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, AJ Barner well ahead of where he belonged. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Jordan Jefferson this early at Round 5, Pick 8. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They reached into another round for Joe Milton III, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Ty'Ron Hopper at pick No. 180 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
The board fumbled Isaiah Davis all the way to the Round 6 slot, and they scooped it up. It fills a real need, too.
Logan Lee at pick 182 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They robbed the room for Cornelius Johnson here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A linebacker of that caliber at No. 230 is the definition of value, full stop. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.