B+
New England Patriots
The Patriots let Lloyd fall and pounced. Final grade: B+.
by JScrillz ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 7 picks
· 2 steals
· 1 reaches
You build a draft on nights like this. MarShawn Lloyd had no business being available in the 137th pick, and the Patriots did the only sane thing and turned in the card.
Every board in the league had Hartman lower, and that gap is the story. They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast. The edge rusher spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at.
The veteran additions, Trey McBride chief among them, give the class a floor the rookies alone would not.
Good work on the whole, with edge rusher the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 4 they get a home-run threat at receiver. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Kingsley Suamataia at the 68th overall pick. It fills a real need, too.
No edge and no loss on Cam Hart in the Round 4 slot; it is a wash and a sensible one. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Steal is underselling it; MarShawn Lloyd at No. 137 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Jordan Jefferson at the 180th pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Tahj Washington in pick 193 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A real head-scratcher, Sam Hartman in Round 7, Pick 11 is miles ahead of his ranking. A need, and now a little less of one.