B-
New England Patriots
Skattebo should have been long gone. The Patriots pounced, and earned a B-.
by Darkknightcole ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 4 steals
· 3 reaches
You build a draft on nights like this. Cam Skattebo had no business being available in Round 7, Pick 1, and the Patriots did the only sane thing and turned in the card. It does the job without flash, and the B- reflects it.
The cost of the Wedig reach is exactly the players who went right after him. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped interior defensive lineman, which is a strange place to end up.
The roster is better shaped than it was, with edge rusher chief among the fixes.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but interior defensive lineman.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a quarterback's worst nightmare at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Grey Zabel at the 38th overall pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A wild overpay on Tez Johnson in pick 69, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Taking Jihaad Campbell in pick No. 77 is close to grand larceny; a linebacker that good had no business lasting this long. A minor need, but a need all the same.
By-the-book stuff, Luke Kandra at No. 105 squarely in line with his ranking. It fills a real need, too.
The board fumbled Sebastian Castro all the way to the 143rd pick, and they scooped it up. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Cam Skattebo at Round 7, Pick 1 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Seth McLaughlin at slot 220 is the proof. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Trey Wedig. A need, and now a little less of one.