A
New England Patriots
Maye is the plan now, and the Patriots grade out a A.
by Brop9404 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 7 steals
· 2 reaches
The board owed the Patriots one, and it paid up: Javon Foster, the No. 129 name on the board, sitting there at the 223rd pick like a gift left on the doorstep. The sum of the weekend is a deserved A.
They have staked the next five years on Drake Maye, which is the only story that really matters here. Oladapo has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced.
They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast. They will answer for taking cornerback early while interior defensive lineman went begging.
They punted on interior defensive lineman, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
In the end it comes back to Drake Maye, and a haul good enough to build on right away.
Pick-by-Pick
They read the board right and Drake Maye was the payoff at No. 15. It fills a real need, too.
Joe Alt in Round 2, Pick 2 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They barely believed it either: Malik Nabers still on the board at slot 46. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Dallas Turner in the Round 3 slot is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Nate Wiggins in pick No. 82 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
A curious use of pick 98. Interior defensive lineman needed the pick; a cornerback in Khyree Jackson did not.
No drama and no debate, Dominick Puni went about where he belonged in the 104th pick. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They talked themselves into Kitan Oladapo at the 136th overall pick, and the board did not agree. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Steal is underselling it; Braelon Allen at No. 183 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Javon Foster at Round 7, Pick 3 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A conviction pick on Brevyn Spann-Ford at No. 229 that the board grades a round light. It patches a soft spot without any drama.