D
New England Patriots
The Patriots left with their quarterback, and a D to match.
by Captain Stone ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 17 picks
· 8 steals
· 5 reaches
The value of the weekend has a name and a slot: Isaiah Davis, the Round 7 slot, roughly 97 picks past where he belonged. The process wobbled, and the D is where it lands.
The cost of the Paul reach is exactly the players who went right after him. They handed away value on the phones that the picks cannot earn back. The whole projection now runs through J.J. McCarthy; hit there and everything else looks smarter.
Job largely done: edge rusher settled and 8 of 8 of the wish list covered.
A rough weekend that leaves the roster with more questions than answers.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 8 they get a passer to set the clock by, a steep price for the projection. A real need, handled.
Tyler Nubin in No. 37 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A straight-up fair deal on Roman Wilson at pick No. 41, value and slot in agreement. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Patrick Paul at slot 54 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It fills a real need, too.
Ja'Tavion Sanders at No. 68 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Nice patience on Blake Fisher, who had no business lasting to the Round 3 slot. The roster fit checks out.
Cam Hart at Round 3, Pick 25 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
A conviction pick on Will Shipley at the 101st overall pick that the board grades a round light. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A reach on Johnny Wilson in pick 110; the board had better options right there. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
The board fumbled Austin Booker all the way to the 120th pick, and they scooped it up. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They barely believed it either: Renardo Green still on the board at No. 137. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Steal is underselling it; Ben Sinnott at pick 151 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A need, and now a little less of one.
No drama and no debate, Cornelius Johnson went about where he belonged in slot 161. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They took Fabien Lovett at par in the Round 6 slot, which is nothing to complain about. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Circle this one: Trevor Keegan at the 197th pick is a fall that decides a draft. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Jordan Magee in Round 7, Pick 14 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Isaiah Davis in pick No. 252 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.