B+
New England Patriots
McCarthy is the Patriots' new face under center. Grade: B+.
by Kenton ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 5 steals
· 1 reaches
Start where it matters. The Patriots took J.J. McCarthy to run the offense for the next decade, and every other decision this weekend bends around that one. More right than wrong, and a B+ to match.
They banked enough surplus on Coleman to cover a lot of smaller sins. The cost of the McCarthy reach is exactly the players who went right after him. That interior defensive lineman hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall.
Adding Adam Trautman by trade rounds out the weekend beyond the rookies.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but interior defensive lineman.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 12th overall pick they get their guy under center for the next decade, though they paid up to get him. A clean fit for the roster.
In pick 18 they get a building block for the line. A real need, handled.
The board had Chop Robinson higher than the 34th pick, and the edge rusher fell to them anyway. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Keon Coleman at No. 76 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Will Shipley in the Round 4 slot. A need, and now a little less of one.
A slide stopped in slot 137, with Johnny Wilson worth more than the price. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A tidy little value on Braiden McGregor in pick No. 180, a step better than break-even. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Steal is underselling it; Kamal Hadden at Round 6, Pick 18 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Garret Greenfield is a better player than the 231st pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.