A-
New England Patriots
A masterclass at the trade table lands the Patriots a A-.
by fink ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 4 steals
· 4 reaches
The Patriots bet big and early on Fadil Diggs, 64 picks ahead of the board. Bold does not always mean right. This is how you run a draft, and the A- reflects it.
The Edwards pick is the one they will point to when this weekend is judged. The dealing alone would carry a lesser class.
The interior defensive lineman hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
Bottom line, they left the weekend a clearly better team, and they earned every bit of it.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 12 they get a building block for the line. A real need, handled.
A conviction pick on Tre Harris at the Round 2 slot that the board grades a round light. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They read the board right and Demetrius Knight Jr. was the payoff at No. 69. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Circle this one: Isaiah Bond at the 77th overall pick is a fall that decides a draft. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Malachi Moore in Round 4, Pick 4. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Mello Dotson at slot 145 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Fadil Diggs at pick 170 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
The board fumbled Donovan Edwards all the way to slot 219, and they scooped it up. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They reached into another round for Seth McLaughlin, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Tosh Baker. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.