A-
New England Patriots
The Patriots let Jones fall and pounced. Final grade: A-.
by Bigbook ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 4 steals
· 1 reaches
The board owed the Patriots one, and it paid up: Jarrian Jones, the No. 149 name on the board, sitting there at the Round 6 slot like a gift left on the doorstep.
The trade ledger is the best part of the whole weekend. For all the activity, edge rusher went untouched, which is hard to explain.
Drew Dalman gives the group a proven body among the projects.
Add it up and few war rooms did better this weekend, Rome Odunze and all.
Pick-by-Pick
No edge and no loss on Rome Odunze in the 8th pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A reach for J.J. McCarthy in the Round 2 slot; a little patience would have been rewarded. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
T'Vondre Sweat at pick No. 43 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They will replay Keon Coleman at pick 68 for years; that is how good the value is. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Cam Hart at Round 4, Pick 4 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
A market-rate safety, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Renardo Green. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A straight-up fair deal on Christian Jones at slot 136, value and slot in agreement. It fills a real need, too.
A cornerback of that caliber at No. 182 is the definition of value, full stop. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
Somehow Nathaniel Watson was still sitting there in the Round 7 slot, and they pounced on premier linebacker value. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.