B+
New England Patriots
The Patriots let Paul Jr. fall into their laps, and walked away with a B+.
by Bfulk07 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 6 steals
· 3 reaches
When a board-topper like Chris Paul Jr. slides to No. 238, you do not overthink it, and the Patriots did not. Solid and sensible more than spectacular: a B+.
If Sanders pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about. They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast. That edge rusher hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall.
Good work on the whole, with edge rusher the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 6 they get a weapon on the perimeter. The biggest hole, addressed.
Tate Ratledge in the 37th pick is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A top-tier interior defensive lineman at a bargain, Mason Graham in the 38th overall pick, plain and simple. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A quiet steal in the Round 3 slot: Dylan Fairchild for less than the market said. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They robbed the room for Malaki Starks here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They talked themselves into Chase Lundt at Round 4, Pick 3, and the board did not agree. The roster fit checks out.
Shilo Sanders in slot 143 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They will replay Cam Skattebo at pick No. 178 for years; that is how good the value is. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Nick Nash well ahead of where he belonged. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Somehow Theo Wease Jr. was still sitting there in slot 217, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
No edge and no loss on Jaylen Reed in the 220th overall pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Chris Paul Jr. at the Round 7 slot is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.