B+
New England Patriots
The Patriots won the night they stopped Riley from sliding. Grade: B+.
by Puckerbutt ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 6 steals
· 0 reaches
The rest of the league will want that one back. Quincy Riley tumbling to the Patriots in the 238th overall pick is a gift they did not have to think twice about.
Every deal seemed to tilt their way, which is not luck. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped edge rusher, which is a strange place to end up. The Justin Jefferson pickup adds a known quantity to a class of unknowns.
On the needs board they went 5 of 8, with wide receiver the one that mattered most.
Good work on the whole, with edge rusher the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 24 they get a mismatch in the passing game at a price that makes it sweeter. A clean fit for the roster.
Jihaad Campbell at pick No. 38 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A minor need, but a need all the same.
They took Cameron Williams at par in pick 69, which is nothing to complain about. A need, and now a little less of one.
No drama and no debate, Ozzy Trapilo went about where he belonged in the Round 3 slot. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Value with a capital V on Savion Williams in No. 106, a genuine coup. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Emery Jones Jr. in the 144th overall pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They will replay Raheim Sanders at Round 7, Pick 1 for years; that is how good the value is. The roster fit checks out.
Upton Stout at the 220th pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A cornerback of that caliber at pick No. 238 is the definition of value, full stop. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.