A-
New England Patriots
The Patriots let Ward fall and pounced. Final grade: A-.
by 123 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 10 steals
· 0 reaches
The best pick of the weekend was also the simplest. The Patriots watched Cam Ward slide 233 picks past his grade and did not hesitate. It holds up to a second look, which is why it earns the A-.
The phones were where this weekend was really won. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped safety, which is a strange place to end up.
Add it up and few war rooms did better this weekend, Will Campbell and all.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 24 they get protection for the quarterback, and a steal at that. A real need, handled.
Walter Nolen in the Round 2 slot should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Steal is underselling it; Mike Green at slot 69 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Jahdae Barron at No. 77 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Circle this one: Tre Harris at pick 97 is a fall that decides a draft. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Ashton Jeanty at Round 4, Pick 4 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They will replay Jihaad Campbell at the 145th overall pick for years; that is how good the value is. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
They robbed the room for Elijah Arroyo here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A top-tier cornerback at a bargain, Trey Amos in pick 222, plain and simple. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
Somehow Cam Ward was still sitting there in Round 7, Pick 22, and they pounced on premier quarterback value. It fills a real need, too.