A-
New England Patriots
The Patriots found their guy under center in Maye: A-.
by Bigbook ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 15 picks
· 4 steals
· 3 reaches
Start where it matters. The Patriots took Drake Maye to run the offense for the next decade, and every other decision this weekend bends around that one. Little to argue with here, and the A- says so.
Every board in the league had Bortolini lower, and that gap is the story. Jones at that cost is the sort of edge that compounds over a roster.
The dealing alone would carry a lesser class. It is not that Jackson is a bad player; it is that the Patriots had louder needs to answer first.
The edge rusher spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at.
Add it up and this is about as clean as a draft weekend gets.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 4 they get a passer to set the clock by. A real need, handled.
They paid sticker price for Rome Odunze in pick 7, and that is fine. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A clean, defensible pick in the Round 2 slot with a little surplus value in Cooper DeJean. A minor need, but a need all the same.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Tyler Guyton in slot 35. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
No edge and no loss on Keon Coleman in the 38th overall pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
You do not let a wide receiver like Xavier Legette reach the 68th pick and blink. They did not. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A conviction pick on Trey Benson at pick No. 71 that the board grades a round light. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They zigged when the board said zag, taking Khyree Jackson at cornerback with edge rusher, interior defensive lineman and other spots open.
Will Shipley in the 106th pick is fair value, right on his grade. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A tidy little value on Christian Jones in the 137th overall pick, a step better than break-even. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They talked themselves into Tanor Bortolini at pick No. 138, and the board did not agree. It fills a real need, too.
Layden Robinson in Round 5, Pick 10 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Jarrian Jones at pick 180 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
The board fumbled Luke McCaffrey all the way to No. 193, and they scooped it up. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Tatum Bethune at slot 231 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.