B-
New England Patriots
No fireworks, just a tidy B- for the Patriots.
by ian ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 3 steals
· 3 reaches
There was a run on nobody at that position, and the Patriots started one anyway for Kyren Lacy, 56 picks ahead of schedule. A sturdy weekend that grades out a B-.
Getting Pegues where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class. A whole weekend of picks and quarterback is somehow still a want.
Good work on the whole, with quarterback the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 4 they get protection for the quarterback. A clean fit for the roster.
JT Tuimoloau in the 38th overall pick is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Jayden Higgins at the Round 3 slot is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
No edge and no loss on Darien Porter in No. 77; it is a wash and a sensible one. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Taking Donovan Jackson in the 106th pick is close to grand larceny; an offensive lineman that good had no business lasting this long. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
RJ Harvey in pick 144 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A top-tier interior defensive lineman at a bargain, JJ Pegues in slot 217, plain and simple. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
R.J. Mickens at No. 220 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A big swing on Kyren Lacy at pick 238, well ahead of any board in the building. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.