B-
New England Patriots
A franchise passer in Maye headlines a B- weekend for the Patriots.
by Brop9404 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 5 steals
· 1 reaches
Call it larceny. Chau Smith-Wade sat on the board until No. 232, and the Patriots did not need to be asked twice.
Drake Maye is the bet, and the class will be judged on how it pays off. For all the activity, safety went untouched, which is hard to explain. Paul has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but safety.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 7 they get their guy under center for the next decade. A real need, handled.
They paid a round early for Patrick Paul in slot 34, more than the board wanted. The roster fit checks out.
Tyler Guyton in the Round 2 slot is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Jer'Zhan Newton in the 68th pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Value with a capital V on Ja'Lynn Polk in slot 69, a genuine coup. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They robbed the room for Christian Mahogany here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They took Khyree Jackson at par in pick 105, which is nothing to complain about. A minor itch, scratched.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Beaux Limmer. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They will replay Cedric Johnson at the 182nd overall pick for years; that is how good the value is. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Blake Watson at Round 7, Pick 4 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Steal is underselling it; Chau Smith-Wade at the 232nd overall pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.