D+
New England Patriots
The Patriots bet the future on Maye. The board says D+.
by Sean627 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 2 steals
· 4 reaches
Boards are made to be trusted, and the Patriots shredded theirs for Joe Milton III. He came off 64 spots early, and the room will hear about it. Too much went sideways, and the D+ is the honest tally.
The trade table is where this weekend went wrong. They have staked the next five years on Drake Maye, which is the only story that really matters here. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher.
Getting Burton where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class.
The verdict is not kind, and fairly so; this class has a hill to climb.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 3 they get the arm they will build around. A real need, handled.
No drama and no debate, Jordan Morgan went about where he belonged in the Round 2 slot. A need, and now a little less of one.
A slide stopped in the 74th pick, with Kingsley Suamataia worth more than the price. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Jermaine Burton at slot 79 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They took Johnny Wilson at par in pick 123, which is nothing to complain about. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Jared Wiley in No. 127 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It fills a real need, too.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Joe Milton III this early at pick No. 137. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They went early on Sione Vaki in the 149th pick, and the value did not follow. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Jalen Coker in No. 231, miles early. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.