B
New England Patriots
The Patriots let Hardy fall and pounced. Final grade: B.
by NE4EVER ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 2 steals
· 2 reaches
The Patriots did not reach, did not trade up, did not blink. They just waited, and Daequan Hardy fell into slot 229. No fireworks, but a solid B.
If Pratt pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through interior defensive lineman. On the needs board they went 5 of 8, with edge rusher the one that mattered most.
They came away with juice, if not much beef up front.
Good work on the whole, with interior defensive lineman the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
They took Marvin Harrison Jr. at par in No. 3, which is nothing to complain about. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Troy Fautanu at slot 39. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Nothing to complain about; Kiran Amegadjie went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Michael Pratt well ahead of where he belonged. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
No edge and no loss on Marcus Harris in Round 4, Pick 36; it is a wash and a sensible one. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They reached into another round for Dallin Holker, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. It fills a real need, too.
Jha'Quan Jackson at the 182nd pick is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the wide receiver. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Circle this one: Daequan Hardy at pick 229 is a fall that decides a draft. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.