B-
New England Patriots
The Patriots answered their biggest question with Maye. Grade: B-.
by NE4EVER ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 1 steals
· 4 reaches
There is conviction, and then there is this. The Patriots took Austin Reed a full 81 picks ahead of where the board had him, an overdraft steep enough that it colors the whole weekend.
So much rides on Drake Maye that the rest of the class almost grades on a curve behind him. Rosemy-Jacksaint falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch.
They covered a lot of ground and still skipped interior defensive lineman, which is a strange place to end up. The dealing tilted against them, just enough to notice.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the interior defensive lineman spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 5 they get their guy under center for the next decade. A real need, handled.
Tyler Guyton at the 34th pick is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the offensive lineman. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A reach for Max Melton in the Round 3 slot; a little patience would have been rewarded. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Austin Booker at Round 3, Pick 5 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Ben Sinnott at pick No. 103 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They took Anthony Gould at par in pick 137, which is nothing to complain about. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Jha'Quan Jackson at slot 180 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A big swing on Austin Reed at the 193rd pick, well ahead of any board in the building. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint at pick No. 231 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.