C-
New England Patriots
A franchise passer in Maye headlines a C- weekend for the Patriots.
by Brop9404 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 8 steals
· 2 reaches
They finally answered the question that shadows every other one. Drake Maye is the Patriots' quarterback, full stop. Fine in stretches, shaky in others: a C-.
The Coleman pick alone nudges the whole weekend up a notch. They handed away value on the phones that the picks cannot earn back.
Every board in the league had Foster lower, and that gap is the story. It is not that Stover is a bad player; it is that the Patriots had louder needs to answer first.
Leaving tight end unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
So much rides on Drake Maye that the real verdict is a season or two away.
Pick-by-Pick
A straight-up fair deal on Drake Maye at pick 4, value and slot in agreement. The roster fit checks out.
In the Round 1 slot they get a No. 1 receiver at a price that makes it sweeter. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Circle this one: Cooper DeJean at No. 46 is a fall that decides a draft. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Sedrick Van Pran at the 68th pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Keon Coleman at slot 82 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A wild overpay on Javon Foster in pick No. 98, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They bypassed pressing needs at tight end to take Cade Stover, a TE-EDGE that was not the priority.
Nice patience on Marist Liufau, who had no business lasting to Round 4, Pick 3. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
They took Mohamed Kamara at par in No. 117, which is nothing to complain about. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They barely believed it either: Leonard Taylor III still on the board at Round 5, Pick 3. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A slide stopped in pick No. 182, with Kitan Oladapo worth more than the price. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Christian Jones in the 224th pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They did well to land Taulia Tagovailoa in pick 232, just ahead of his grade. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Blake Watson in the Round 7 slot. A need, and now a little less of one.