B-
New England Patriots
The Patriots let Thornton Jr. fall into their laps, and walked away with a B-.
by bbbb ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 4 steals
· 2 reaches
This is the pick they will still be bragging about in July: Dont'e Thornton Jr., the No. 174 name on the board, stolen at No. 234. A sturdy weekend that grades out a B-.
The dealing is the wound this class cannot quite close. Leaving edge rusher unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
Every board in the league had Hemingway lower, and that gap is the story. The future picks help the war chest more than the win-now roster.
In sum, a sensible class that nudges the roster the right way.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 14 they get a plug-and-play piece up front, even if it was a touch early. A clean fit for the roster.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Jalon Walker at pick No. 38 is the proof. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
No edge and no loss on Jonah Savaiinaea in Round 2, Pick 13; it is a wash and a sensible one. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They did well to land Maxwell Hairston in pick 77, just ahead of his grade. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Jake Majors at the 105th pick nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Circle this one: Jordan Phillips at the 145th overall pick is a fall that decides a draft. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A top-tier cornerback at a bargain, Alijah Huzzie in slot 219, plain and simple. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
By-the-book stuff, Trevor Etienne at the Round 7 slot squarely in line with his ranking. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They robbed the room for Dont'e Thornton Jr. here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A reach on Tonka Hemingway in slot 240; the board had better options right there. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.