B+
New England Patriots
The Patriots let Taylor fall into their laps, and walked away with a B+.
by Sean Romiza ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 6 steals
· 0 reaches
Somewhere a general manager is explaining how Mason Taylor got past him. The Patriots do not have to explain a thing at the 219th overall pick.
They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast. That edge rusher hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall.
The Patriots clearly valued win-now help, adding bodies who have done it before. They went 4 of 8 on their needs, which is most of what a draft is for.
A tidy weekend of work that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 3 they get a ballhawk on the outside. Need was not the driver here.
In Round 1, Pick 10 they get a lead back with juice, and a steal at that. A real need, handled.
Tate Ratledge at pick No. 36 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the offensive lineman. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They barely believed it either: Jihaad Campbell still on the board at pick 79. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
They robbed the room for Andrew Mukuba here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Circle this one: Barrett Carter at slot 138 is a fall that decides a draft. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
Taking Mason Taylor in the Round 7 slot is close to grand larceny; a tight end that good had no business lasting this long. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
You do not let a running back like Raheim Sanders reach the 220th overall pick and blink. They did not. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Fair-plus on Shilo Sanders, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.