B
New England Patriots
The Patriots won the night they stopped Hicks from sliding. Grade: B.
by NE4EVER ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 7 steals
· 0 reaches
You build a draft on nights like this. Jaden Hicks had no business being available in pick 231, and the Patriots did the only sane thing and turned in the card. They moved the roster forward and banked a B for it.
A whole weekend of picks and edge rusher is somehow still a want. On the needs board they went 5 of 8, with wide receiver the one that mattered most.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the edge rusher spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a go-to option on the outside. Exactly the need they had to hit.
A quarterback of that caliber at the 34th overall pick is the definition of value, full stop. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They barely believed it either: Tyler Guyton still on the board at No. 68. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Taking Calen Bullock in Round 4, Pick 3 is close to grand larceny; a safety that good had no business lasting this long. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Caelen Carson in pick No. 137 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
A top-tier interior defensive lineman at a bargain, DeWayne Carter in slot 180, plain and simple. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Jha'Quan Jackson in the 193rd pick. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Jaden Hicks at pick 231 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.