C
New England Patriots
The Patriots let Barron fall into their laps, and walked away with a C.
by Dpilon19731973 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 17 picks
· 14 steals
· 1 reaches
You could see the war room lean forward. Jahdae Barron at the Round 6 slot is the sort of fall that does not happen, except it just did. It lands right in the middle: a C, no more, no less.
Every board in the league had Daniels lower, and that gap is the story. It is not that Walker is a bad player; it is that the Patriots had louder needs to answer first.
They handed away value on the phones that the picks cannot earn back. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped tight end, which is a strange place to end up.
If Travis Hunter and a couple of the gambles land, hindsight will be kinder than this grade.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 4th pick they get a potential shutdown corner at fair value. Need was not the driver here.
By-the-book stuff, Matthew Golden at slot 38 squarely in line with his ranking. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Wyatt Milum in pick No. 69 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Circle this one: Malaki Starks at Round 3, Pick 13 is a fall that decides a draft. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They barely believed it either: Jihaad Campbell still on the board at No. 102. It adds depth where they could use a little.
They zigged when the board said zag, taking Jalon Walker at linebacker with tight end open.
You do not let a running back like Ashton Jeanty reach the Round 4 slot and blink. They did not. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They robbed the room for Quinshon Judkins here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A top-tier interior defensive lineman at a bargain, Walter Nolen in No. 163, plain and simple. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
T.J. Sanders in slot 177 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Jahdae Barron at pick No. 190 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
A offensive lineman of that caliber at the 198th overall pick is the definition of value, full stop. A need, and now a little less of one.
Chase Lundt at the Round 6 slot is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Steal is underselling it; Josaiah Stewart at pick 215 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
JT Daniels in the 217th pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. The roster fit checks out.
Taking Zy Alexander in Round 7, Pick 4 is close to grand larceny; a cornerback that good had no business lasting this long. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
They will replay Malachi Moore at pick No. 238 for years; that is how good the value is. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.