B+
New England Patriots
Nobody dealt better than the Patriots this weekend: B+.
by Trosprimix ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 18 picks
· 5 steals
· 10 reaches
Nobody had Anthony Belton this high, and it is not close. The Patriots reached 122 spots to get him at No. 142. It does the job without flash, and the B+ reflects it.
They robbed the room blind at the table, and it lifts the grade on its own. They banked enough surplus on Castro to cover a lot of smaller sins.
The Patriots clearly valued win-now help, adding bodies who have done it before. The hoard sets up next April more than it helps this September.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 32nd pick they get a cornerstone up front. A clean fit for the roster.
No drama and no debate, Tyler Warren went about where he belonged in the Round 2 slot. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Omarion Hampton at No. 44 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A need, and now a little less of one.
Xavier Watts in the 46th overall pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Darien Porter. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Blake Miller at Round 2, Pick 32 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It fills a real need, too.
A big swing on Kurtis Rourke at the 77th overall pick, well ahead of any board in the building. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They talked themselves into Tory Horton at the 84th pick, and the board did not agree. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Jordan Burch at the Round 3 slot is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They reached into another round for Terrance Ferguson, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Sebastian Castro in pick 126 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Anthony Belton in slot 142 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. The roster fit checks out.
They read the board right and Harold Perkins Jr. was the payoff at No. 143. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Will Lee III this early at pick No. 190. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
Value with a capital V on Jack Kiser in Round 7, Pick 4, a genuine coup. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
Thor Griffith at the 219th overall pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Seth McLaughlin at pick No. 243 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Roman Hemby in pick 256, miles early. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.