B-
New England Patriots
The Patriots let Johnson fall and pounced. Final grade: B-.
by digitaljedi ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 5 steals
· 0 reaches
You build a draft on nights like this. Cornelius Johnson had no business being available in the 231st pick, and the Patriots did the only sane thing and turned in the card. Good, not great, and the B- says as much.
They punted on interior defensive lineman, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest. Job largely done: edge rusher settled and 5 of 8 of the wish list covered.
Building through the lines is a philosophy, and they stuck to it.
A tidy weekend of work that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 3 they get a cornerstone up front. A clean fit for the roster.
J.J. McCarthy at the 34th pick is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the quarterback. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Xavier Worthy slipping to slot 68 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Malik Washington in the Round 4 slot. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Mohamed Kamara in the 137th overall pick. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Dwight McGlothern in No. 180 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Isaiah Davis at pick 193 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They robbed the room for Cornelius Johnson here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.