B
New England Patriots
Grand theft in the Round 7 slot: the Patriots steal Barton and grade out a B.
by Biggs7079 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 9 steals
· 1 reaches
The board owed the Patriots one, and it paid up: Lander Barton, the No. 121 name on the board, sitting there at Round 7, Pick 6 like a gift left on the doorstep. Good, not great, and the B says as much.
The cost of the Jones Jr. reach is exactly the players who went right after him. They punted on interior defensive lineman, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
Bottom line, more hits than misses and a roster nudged the right way.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a bendy edge with upside. Exactly the need they had to hit.
A quiet steal in pick No. 36: Luther Burden III for less than the market said. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Steal is underselling it; Harold Fannin Jr. at slot 47 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A need, and now a little less of one.
Circle this one: Jack Sawyer at the 68th overall pick is a fall that decides a draft. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Malaki Starks at pick 83 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Taking Jake Majors in Round 4, Pick 4 is close to grand larceny; an offensive lineman that good had no business lasting this long. The roster fit checks out.
Emery Jones Jr. at No. 116 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
TreVeyon Henderson in the 142nd pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Lander Barton at the Round 7 slot is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
A tight end of that caliber at pick No. 223 is the definition of value, full stop. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Kevin Winston Jr. in slot 241 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.