B+
New England Patriots
McCarthy is the Patriots' new face under center. Grade: B+.
by ferda ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 2 steals
· 2 reaches
Start where it matters. The Patriots took J.J. McCarthy to run the offense for the next decade, and every other decision this weekend bends around that one. No fireworks, but a solid B+.
Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Dixon. They robbed the room blind at the table, and it lifts the grade on its own.
They are betting Harrell proves the room right and everyone else wrong. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through interior defensive lineman.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but interior defensive lineman.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 12 they get the arm they will build around, reach and all.
Adonai Mitchell at Round 2, Pick 2 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A market-rate wide receiver, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Xavier Worthy. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Blake Fisher at the 76th overall pick is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Somehow DJ James was still sitting there in No. 103, and they pounced on premier cornerback value. A minor itch, scratched.
Christian Jones in pick 137 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Jaylen Harrell at the Round 6 slot is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They took Trente Jones at par in the 193rd pick, which is nothing to complain about. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Circle this one: Johnny Dixon at Round 7, Pick 11 is a fall that decides a draft. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.