B-
New England Patriots
The Patriots left with their quarterback, and a B- to match.
by karjoon ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 3 steals
· 3 reaches
The Patriots spent the pick that matters most on Jayden Daniels, and a roster that has been waiting on a passer can start to take shape. It nets out to a B-, which feels about right.
They will need Byrd to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it. Legette falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch.
They covered a lot of ground and still skipped interior defensive lineman, which is a strange place to end up.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the interior defensive lineman spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 3 they get their quarterback of the future at fair value. A real need, handled.
A premium they did not need to pay, Roman Wilson a notch or two before his time. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Patrick Paul. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They will replay Xavier Legette at the Round 4 slot for years; that is how good the value is. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Roger Rosengarten at pick No. 137 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Sione Vaki in Round 6, Pick 7 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A straight-up fair deal on Joe Milton III at the 193rd overall pick, value and slot in agreement. A need, and now a little less of one.
Michael Barrett is a better player than slot 231 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Solomon Byrd in slot 242 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.