B
New England Patriots
The Patriots bet the future on Maye. The board says B.
by NE4EVER ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 4 steals
· 2 reaches
Call it a hunch or call it a gamble, but the Patriots spent the Round 7 slot on Austin Stogner, a name most had 117 spots down the list. A dependable weekend that grades out a B.
The whole projection now runs through Drake Maye; hit there and everything else looks smarter. The interior defensive lineman spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at.
They banked enough surplus on Corley to cover a lot of smaller sins.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the interior defensive lineman spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 3 they get their guy under center for the next decade at fair value. A real need, handled.
A slide stopped in pick No. 34, with Chop Robinson worth more than the price. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A quiet steal in the 68th pick: Malachi Corley for less than the market said. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Andru Phillips at the Round 4 slot. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Nothing to complain about; Jalyx Hunt went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. This was not a hole anyone had circled.
They paid sticker price for Jha'Quan Jackson in the 180th overall pick, and that is fine. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Julian Pearl in No. 193 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. It does not line up with the team's obvious holes.
Austin Stogner at the 231st overall pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Bub Means at pick No. 254 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.