A-
New England Patriots
The Patriots worked the phones like thieves and earned a A-.
by Yves ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 16 picks
· 5 steals
· 11 reaches
Nobody had Emery Jones Jr. this high, and it is not close. The Patriots reached 91 spots to get him at slot 86. Just about everything broke right, and the A- follows.
The Giddens steal is the beam this whole class leans on. They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast. They punted on quarterback, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
Byron Murphy Jr. gives the group a proven body among the projects.
Few war rooms will sleep better than this one tonight.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 28 they get a load in the middle, outstanding value to boot. Exactly the need they had to hit.
A top-tier safety at a bargain, Malaki Starks in Round 2, Pick 6, plain and simple. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Value said wait; Jared Ivey in the Round 2 slot says they were not listening. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They barely believed it either: Jihaad Campbell still on the board at pick 69. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Emery Jones Jr. well ahead of where he belonged. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Blake Miller at the 97th overall pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Chase Lundt at pick 122 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Mason Taylor in pick No. 133 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A need, and now a little less of one.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Ja'Corey Brooks this early at the 143rd overall pick. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Davison Igbinosun at Round 5, Pick 24 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
They talked themselves into Will Lee III at the Round 5 slot, and the board did not agree. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
A wild overpay on Nick Nash in slot 165, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Nohl Williams at the 217th pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
A big swing on Nick Martin at No. 220, well ahead of any board in the building. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
A running back of that caliber at slot 239 is the definition of value, full stop. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
RJ Harvey in the Round 7 slot is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.