B
New England Patriots
The Patriots won the night they stopped Sanders from sliding. Grade: B.
by 651681891 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 6 steals
· 0 reaches
You could see the war room lean forward. T.J. Sanders at the 240th pick is the sort of fall that does not happen, except it just did. Good, not great, and the B says as much.
The edge rusher hole is the one line item this class does not answer. Wide receiver was the priority and it is no longer a question, which is most of the job.
All told, a draft that does its job without fuss, and there is real value in that.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 4th overall pick they get an island corner. Need was not the driver here.
They did well to land Grey Zabel in No. 38, just ahead of his grade. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
By-the-book stuff, Jayden Higgins at the Round 3 slot squarely in line with his ranking. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
The board fumbled Wyatt Milum all the way to pick 77, and they scooped it up. A need, and now a little less of one.
Somehow Nick Emmanwori was still sitting there in slot 105, and they pounced on premier safety value. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Taking Mason Taylor in Round 5, Pick 6 is close to grand larceny; a tight end that good had no business lasting this long. It fills a real need, too.
They will replay Tre Harris at pick No. 219 for years; that is how good the value is. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They robbed the room for Xavier Restrepo here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A interior defensive lineman of that caliber at the Round 7 slot is the definition of value, full stop. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.