B-
New England Patriots
Grand theft in the Round 3 slot: the Patriots steal Starks and grade out a B-.
by kastrup ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 5 steals
· 2 reaches
Somebody in pick 77 was going to get robbed, and it turned out to be the rest of the league. The Patriots sat still while Malaki Starks, the No. 27 name on the board, slid all the way to them, then sprinted to the podium. It does the job without flash, and the B- reflects it.
They will need Conner to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it. Leaving edge rusher unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
All told, a draft that does its job without fuss, and there is real value in that.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 4th pick they get a blindside protector. A real need, handled.
They let Kenneth Grant come to them and pounced at slot 38. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Jalon Walker in Round 3, Pick 5 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Malaki Starks at the Round 3 slot is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Xavier Restrepo in pick 106 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Kyle Williams at pick No. 144 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Luke Lachey at the 217th overall pick is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They barely believed it either: Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson still on the board at No. 220. The roster fit checks out.
They reached into another round for Hayden Conner, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. A need, and now a little less of one.