A-
New England Patriots
Mustapha should have been long gone. The Patriots pounced, and earned a A-.
by Bigbook ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 4 steals
· 2 reaches
The rest of the league will want that one back. Malik Mustapha tumbling to the Patriots in No. 182 is a gift they did not have to think twice about. The sum of the weekend is a deserved A-.
For all the activity, edge rusher went untouched, which is hard to explain. The Byron Murphy Jr. deal gives the class an established piece to lean on.
Fiske has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced. Job largely done: wide receiver settled and 7 of 8 of the wish list covered.
Bottom line, they left the weekend a clearly better team, and they earned every bit of it.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 11 they get a true top target at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
A clean, defensible pick in pick 34 with a little surplus value in Bo Nix. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They went early on Braden Fiske in No. 42, and the value did not follow. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Kingsley Suamataia at the 50th pick is a conviction pick that outran the value. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Trey Benson in the Round 4 slot is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
No drama and no debate, Christian Jones went about where he belonged in the 136th overall pick. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Taking Malik Mustapha in slot 182 is close to grand larceny; a safety that good had no business lasting this long. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Somehow Luke McCaffrey was still sitting there in Round 6, Pick 14, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
The board had Tanner McLachlan higher than No. 229, and the tight end fell to them anyway. It patches a soft spot without any drama.