B
New England Patriots
Grand theft in No. 219: the Patriots steal Mondon Jr. and grade out a B.
by Sweetness ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 7 steals
· 0 reaches
Every so often the board makes a mistake, and the Patriots were there to profit. Smael Mondon Jr., the No. 111 name on the board, should have been long gone before pick 219.
The trade ledger is the best part of the whole weekend. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher. The Patriots clearly valued win-now help, adding bodies who have done it before.
A workmanlike haul that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 14th overall pick they get a matchup weapon at tight end at fair value. A clean fit for the roster.
In No. 20 they get a load in the middle. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Jalon Walker at Round 2, Pick 6 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Aireontae Ersery at pick No. 45 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
You do not let a running back like Kaleb Johnson reach the Round 3 slot and blink. They did not. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A safety of that caliber at slot 105 is the definition of value, full stop. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They robbed the room for Smael Mondon Jr. here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
Kalel Mullings in the 222nd pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It fills a real need, too.
Jeffrey Bassa at pick 234 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
A top-tier linebacker at a bargain, Cody Simon in pick No. 240, plain and simple. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.