B+
New England Patriots
The Patriots answered their biggest question with Daniels. Grade: B+.
by Brop9404 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 5 steals
· 5 reaches
The Patriots spent the pick that matters most on Jayden Daniels, and a roster that has been waiting on a passer can start to take shape. Solid and sensible more than spectacular: a B+.
The dealing alone would carry a lesser class. The Ali pick is the one they will point to when this weekend is judged. They are betting Laube proves the room right and everyone else wrong.
They will regret leaving edge rusher for another day if the season turns on it. Spending an early pick on cornerback with edge rusher and interior defensive lineman open is the decision the grade keeps circling back to.
Good work on the whole, with edge rusher the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 8 they get a long-term answer under center. A clean fit for the roster.
A wide receiver of that caliber at Round 2, Pick 2 is the definition of value, full stop. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Kool-Aid McKinstry at No. 35 is money in the bank, a cornerback taken below his worth. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
No drama and no debate, Patrick Paul went about where he belonged in pick 43. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Value said wait; Sedrick Van Pran in the 68th overall pick says they were not listening. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Steal is underselling it; Ja'Lynn Polk at the Round 3 slot is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They liked Matt Goncalves enough to skip the value, taking him in the 95th pick. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
The needs board was loud and they turned it down, spending pick No. 98 on Khyree Jackson with edge rusher and interior defensive lineman unsolved.
Marist Liufau in No. 99 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Dylan Laube at the Round 4 slot is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
No edge and no loss on Ben Sinnott in pick 139; it is a wash and a sensible one. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Layden Robinson at the 145th overall pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Kitan Oladapo in Round 5, Pick 13 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They barely believed it either: Rasheen Ali still on the board at slot 224. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.