A
New England Patriots
The Patriots won the night they stopped Higgins from sliding. Grade: A.
by Gwar ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 7 steals
· 0 reaches
The Patriots spent the weekend waiting on one name, and it fell: Jay Higgins, the No. 134 name on the board, in Round 7, Pick 1. The sum of the weekend is a deserved A.
The trade ledger is the best part of the whole weekend. A whole weekend of picks and edge rusher is somehow still a want.
The veteran additions, Henry To'oTo'o chief among them, give the class a floor the rookies alone would not.
The kind of weekend a front office frames and hangs on the wall.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 15th pick they get a cornerstone up front. A clean fit for the roster.
Grey Zabel at the Round 2 slot is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Taking Nick Emmanwori in the 45th overall pick is close to grand larceny; a safety that good had no business lasting this long. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
You do not let a wide receiver like Tre Harris reach Round 3, Pick 5 and blink. They did not. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Trey Amos in pick 77 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Somehow Quinshon Judkins was still sitting there in No. 145, and they pounced on premier running back value. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A linebacker of that caliber at pick No. 219 is the definition of value, full stop. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Circle this one: Upton Stout at slot 222 is a fall that decides a draft. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Jamon Dumas-Johnson at pick No. 240 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.