A-
New England Patriots
Larceny in pick 202 lands the Patriots a A-, Evans and all.
by CJones ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 14 steals
· 0 reaches
The Patriots did not reach, did not trade up, did not blink. They just waited, and Mitchell Evans fell into pick 202. Very little went wrong, and the A- is earned.
The phones were where this weekend was really won. The edge rusher spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at.
Add it up and few war rooms did better this weekend, Luther Burden III and all.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 26 they get a No. 1 receiver, and a steal at that. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Malaki Starks is a better player than pick No. 38 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They let Xavier Restrepo come to them and pounced at the Round 3 slot. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A quiet steal in pick 78: Donovan Jackson for less than the market said. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They barely believed it either: Devin Neal still on the board at the 106th pick. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A safety of that caliber at the 134th overall pick is the definition of value, full stop. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
The board fumbled Cam Skattebo all the way to No. 144, and they scooped it up. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A top-tier offensive lineman at a bargain, Emery Jones Jr. in slot 165, plain and simple. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
You do not let a tight end like Mitchell Evans reach Round 6, Pick 26 and blink. They did not. The roster fit checks out.
Somehow JJ Pegues was still sitting there in the Round 7 slot, and they pounced on premier interior defensive lineman value. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A slide stopped in pick No. 226, with Alijah Huzzie worth more than the price. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Jay Higgins in the 238th overall pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Mac McWilliams at the 251st pick is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
They will replay Chimere Dike at slot 257 for years; that is how good the value is. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.