A-
New England Patriots
The Patriots robbed the room for Blue. Final grade: A-.
by bbb ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 8 steals
· 0 reaches
When a board-topper like Jaydon Blue slides to No. 217, you do not overthink it, and the Patriots did not. Add it all up and it grades out a clean A-.
The dealing alone would carry a lesser class. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher.
The imported veterans give this class a floor the draft picks could not on their own. It is a bet on later, and a defensible one for a team playing the long game.
It is a haul that will look even better come September.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 17 they get a true top target at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
They let Jalon Walker come to them and pounced at pick 38. A minor itch, scratched.
A running back of that caliber at the 51st overall pick is the definition of value, full stop. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
The board fumbled Marcus Mbow all the way to pick No. 69, and they scooped it up. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Nice patience on Maxwell Hairston, who had no business lasting to No. 85. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
You do not let a wide receiver like Tez Johnson reach the Round 5 slot and blink. They did not. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They robbed the room for Jaydon Blue here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
R.J. Mickens at the 220th pick is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Steal is underselling it; Caleb Ransaw at No. 238 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.