B+
New England Patriots
The Patriots let Judkins fall into their laps, and walked away with a B+.
by Jasonmroll14 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 13 picks
· 8 steals
· 2 reaches
You could see the war room lean forward. Quinshon Judkins at Round 5, Pick 35 is the sort of fall that does not happen, except it just did. A dependable weekend that grades out a B+.
They will need Muhammad to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it. They punted on edge rusher, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
The Patriots clearly valued win-now help, adding bodies who have done it before.
Good work on the whole, with edge rusher the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a mismatch in the passing game at fair value.
Malaki Starks at pick 38 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They robbed the room for Jihaad Campbell here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A minor itch, scratched.
Jayden Higgins at the 77th overall pick is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the wide receiver. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
No drama and no debate, Jared Wilson went about where he belonged in Round 4, Pick 4. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They reached a country mile for Emery Jones Jr. at pick No. 106, and the board is aghast. The roster fit checks out.
You do not let an interior defensive lineman like Omarr Norman-Lott reach slot 107 and blink. They did not. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Jabbar Muhammad at the 116th pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Chris Paul Jr. at the 145th overall pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
A top-tier running back at a bargain, Quinshon Judkins in No. 172, plain and simple. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Jordan James in the Round 7 slot is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A need, and now a little less of one.
Circle this one: Lander Barton at the 222nd pick is a fall that decides a draft. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
A slide stopped in slot 240, with Seth McLaughlin worth more than the price. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.