B+
New England Patriots
The Patriots turned the phones into found money: B+.
by kastrup ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 3 steals
· 3 reaches
The trade table was a mismatch, and the Patriots were on the right end of it, hauling in a fortune in surplus value. Solid and sensible more than spectacular: a B+.
Conner has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced. They punted on quarterback, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
If one pick saves this weekend, it is Walker. They went 6 of 8 on their needs, which is most of what a draft is for.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but quarterback.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 4 they get a premier pass rusher at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
They read the board right and Jalon Walker was the payoff at pick 38. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Alfred Collins slipping to the 69th overall pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Ozzy Trapilo at pick No. 77 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They liked Xavier Restrepo enough to skip the value, taking him in No. 89. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A real head-scratcher, Kyle Williams in the Round 5 slot is miles ahead of his ranking. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Value with a capital V on Luke Lachey in Round 7, Pick 1, a genuine coup. A need, and now a little less of one.
A tidy little value on Jordan Hancock in the 220th pick, a step better than break-even. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Hayden Conner this early at Round 7, Pick 22. The roster fit checks out.