B+
New England Patriots
A passer of the future in Maye, and a B+, for the Patriots.
by NE4EVER ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 7 picks
· 4 steals
· 1 reaches
You build a draft on nights like this. Jaylin Simpson had no business being available in the 232nd pick, and the Patriots did the only sane thing and turned in the card. More right than wrong, and a B+ to match.
The whole projection now runs through Drake Maye; hit there and everything else looks smarter. That interior defensive lineman hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall.
If Holker pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about. A modest surplus at the table, banked quietly.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the interior defensive lineman spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
No drama and no debate, Drake Maye went about where he belonged in slot 3. It fills a real need, too.
Olumuyiwa Fashanu in pick No. 34 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They robbed the room for Rome Odunze here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Dallin Holker at slot 136 is a conviction pick that outran the value. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They barely believed it either: Keith Randolph Jr. still on the board at the 182nd overall pick. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Nothing to complain about; Jha'Quan Jackson went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Jaylin Simpson at the 232nd pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.