F
New England Patriots
The Patriots let Skattebo fall into their laps, and walked away with a F.
by Dpilon ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 15 picks
· 7 steals
· 4 reaches
Call it larceny. Cam Skattebo sat on the board until the 211th overall pick, and the Patriots did not need to be asked twice. A weekend to file away and forget, and an F to match.
If Sanders pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about. The trade table is where this weekend went wrong.
If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher. Spend now, pay later; the math only works if this class delivers.
About as rough as a weekend gets on paper, with edge rusher still staring back at them.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 3 they get a disruptive interior force. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Tyler Booker. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Maxwell Hairston in Round 2, Pick 32 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
A top-tier safety at a bargain, Nick Emmanwori in pick No. 69, plain and simple. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
By-the-book stuff, Tate Ratledge at the 77th pick squarely in line with his ranking. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
TreVeyon Henderson at the Round 3 slot is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. It fills a real need, too.
Fair-plus on Jaylin Noel, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They will replay Mason Taylor at the 136th overall pick for years; that is how good the value is. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Vernon Broughton at Round 5, Pick 6 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Circle this one: Cam Skattebo at the 211th pick is a fall that decides a draft. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They robbed the room for Jeffrey Bassa here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Ryan Fitzgerald in the 216th overall pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
Taking Lander Barton in slot 217 is close to grand larceny; a linebacker that good had no business lasting this long. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
DJ Campbell at No. 219 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A need, and now a little less of one.
Shilo Sanders at pick No. 222 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.