A-
New England Patriots
The steal of the weekend belongs to the Patriots and Wilson: A-.
by Milk ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 7 steals
· 0 reaches
You build a draft on nights like this. Payton Wilson had no business being available in pick 103, and the Patriots did the only sane thing and turned in the card. Add it all up and it grades out a clean A-.
The dealing alone would carry a lesser class. The Wilson pick is fine in a vacuum, less so with interior defensive lineman, quarterback and other spots still on the board. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through interior defensive lineman.
The future picks help the war chest more than the win-now roster.
The kind of weekend a front office frames and hangs on the wall.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 16 they get a No. 1 receiver at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Amarius Mims slid further than he should have, and the Round 2 slot is lovely value for the offensive lineman. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They paid sticker price for Jeremiah Trotter Jr. in the 68th overall pick, and that is fine. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
A slide stopped in pick 81, with Patrick Paul worth more than the price. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They bypassed pressing needs at interior defensive lineman, quarterback and other spots to take Payton Wilson, a linebacker that was not the priority.
Sataoa Laumea at pick No. 137 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Circle this one: Kitan Oladapo at No. 180 is a fall that decides a draft. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Grayson Murphy at Round 6, Pick 17 is money in the bank, a edge rusher taken below his worth. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Sheridan Jones slipping to Round 7, Pick 11 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Garret Greenfield at the Round 7 slot is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.