B+
New England Patriots
The Patriots left with their quarterback, and a B+ to match.
by BBB ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 19 picks
· 10 steals
· 5 reaches
Call it larceny. Will Shipley sat on the board until Round 6, Pick 2, and the Patriots did not need to be asked twice. A dependable weekend that grades out a B+.
So much rides on Caleb Williams that the rest of the class almost grades on a curve behind him. Liufau has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 6 they get the arm they will build around. A real need, handled.
They will replay Brock Bowers at Round 2, Pick 2 for years; that is how good the value is. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Kool-Aid McKinstry is a better player than the 35th overall pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A minor itch, scratched.
They went early on Patrick Paul in No. 53, and the value did not follow. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A offensive lineman of that caliber at the Round 3 slot is the definition of value, full stop. A need, and now a little less of one.
Braelon Allen at pick 96 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Taking Calen Bullock in the 103rd pick is close to grand larceny; a safety that good had no business lasting this long. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They paid sticker price for Matt Goncalves in slot 107, and that is fine. It fills a real need, too.
Fair-plus on Javon Solomon, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. This was not a hole anyone had circled.
The board had cheaper options than Mohamed Kamara at Round 4, Pick 20, and it noticed. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A wild overpay on Justin Eboigbe in pick No. 126, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Elijah Jones in pick 129 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
They barely believed it either: Khyree Jackson still on the board at Round 5, Pick 1. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
Marist Liufau at No. 138 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Will Shipley in the Round 6 slot is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
By-the-book stuff, Cornelius Johnson at slot 180 squarely in line with his ranking. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Jordan Jefferson in the 193rd pick. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Circle this one: Ty'Ron Hopper at the 202nd overall pick is a fall that decides a draft. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
The board fumbled Joe Milton III all the way to No. 231, and they scooped it up. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.