B
New England Patriots
A masterclass at the trade table lands the Patriots a B.
by Sean ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 0 steals
· 6 reaches
Somewhere a scout is still blinking. The Patriots spent the 104th overall pick on Drake Nugent, a name the board had a full 46 spots lower. They moved the roster forward and banked a B for it.
They robbed the room blind at the table, and it lifts the grade on its own. The Stover pick is fine in a vacuum, less so with edge rusher, interior defensive lineman and other spots still on the board.
For all the activity, edge rusher went untouched, which is hard to explain. The imported veterans give this class a floor the draft picks could not on their own.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the edge rusher spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 4th pick they get a cornerstone up front. A clean fit for the roster.
In pick No. 27 they get protection for the quarterback, reach and all. A real need, handled.
J.J. McCarthy at pick 34 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A reach on Roman Wilson in the Round 3 slot; the board had better options right there. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They bypassed pressing needs at edge rusher, interior defensive lineman and other spots to take Cade Stover, a TE-EDGE that was not the priority.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Drake Nugent this early at slot 104. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They paid up for Ben Sinnott at slot 136 when waiting would have done the job. The roster fit checks out.
They paid sticker price for Javon Baker in pick No. 182, and that is fine. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Trevor Keegan well ahead of where he belonged. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.