B-
New England Patriots
The Patriots cashed the board's mistake on Flournoy: B-.
by TimCart ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 4 steals
· 0 reaches
Thirty-one other rooms let Ryan Flournoy slide, and the Patriots were the ones holding the card at the 242nd pick. Highway robbery.
Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere. That edge rusher hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall.
It is not that Solomon is a bad player; it is that the Patriots had louder needs to answer first.
Add it up and it is a good, unfussy class.
Pick-by-Pick
Joe Alt at slot 9 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the offensive lineman. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Cooper DeJean slid further than he should have, and No. 34 is lovely value for the cornerback. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Cooper Beebe in the 68th pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Fair-plus on Matt Goncalves, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. It fills a real need, too.
Hard to square with the roster. With positions of obvious need still on the board, Javon Solomon adds an OLB-EDGE and leaves edge rusher, interior defensive lineman and other spots untouched.
No drama and no debate, Jarrian Jones went about where he belonged in the Round 5 slot. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
Isaiah Williams at pick 182 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Ty'Ron Hopper slipping to the 193rd overall pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
They did well to land Frank Gore Jr. in slot 231, just ahead of his grade. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
You do not let a wide receiver like Ryan Flournoy reach pick 242 and blink. They did not. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.