There is reaching, and then there is Garret Greenfield at pick No. 180. The Patriots jumped the board by 36 and dared it to prove them wrong. A F, plain and simple.
The dealing is the wound this class cannot quite close. Everything downstream of Bo Nix depends on Bo Nix, and the building knows it. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through interior defensive lineman.
With interior defensive lineman, safety and other spots unsolved, spending premium capital on cornerback is the choice that costs them. Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Torrence. They are betting the present roster is worth a lighter draft next spring.
There is no soft landing here: they fought the board and left interior defensive lineman open, and the grade is the bill.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.27
· Pick 27
· Bo Nix
· QB
· rank 30
In pick No. 27 they get a passer to set the clock by. A real need, handled.
R2.2
· Pick 34
· Brian Thomas Jr.
· WR
· rank 27
Brian Thomas Jr. at No. 34 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
R2.3
· Pick 35
· Ennis Rakestraw Jr.
· CB
· rank 35
They took Ennis Rakestraw Jr. at par in the 35th overall pick, which is nothing to complain about. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
R2.4
· Pick 36
· Jordan Morgan
· OT
· rank 37
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Jordan Morgan. The roster fit checks out.
R2.8
· Pick 40
· Cooper Beebe
· OG
· rank 47
By-the-book stuff, Cooper Beebe at pick 40 squarely in line with his ranking. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
R2.18
· Pick 50
· Payton Wilson
· LB
· rank 57
Payton Wilson in Round 2, Pick 18 is fair value, right on his grade. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
R2.21
· Pick 53
· Roman Wilson
· WR
· rank 46
Nothing to complain about; Roman Wilson went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
R3.2
· Pick 66
· DJ James
· CB
· rank 53
Hard to square with the roster. With positions of obvious need still on the board, DJ James adds a cornerback and leaves interior defensive lineman, safety and other spots untouched.
R3.3
· Pick 67
· Adisa Isaac
· DE-EDGE
· rank 54
A tidy bit of business in the 67th pick, where Adisa Isaac graded well above the range. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
R3.4
· Pick 68
· Kiran Amegadjie
· OT
· rank 66
Kiran Amegadjie in pick No. 68 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
R3.7
· Pick 71
· Cade Stover
· TE
· rank 74
No drama and no debate, Cade Stover went about where he belonged in slot 71. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
R3.14
· Pick 78
· Patrick Paul
· OT
· rank 69
Patrick Paul at the Round 3 slot is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. It fills a real need, too.
R4.3
· Pick 103
· Johnny Wilson
· WR
· rank 126
Value said wait; Johnny Wilson in Round 4, Pick 3 says they were not listening. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
R6.5
· Pick 180
· Garret Greenfield
· OT
· rank 216
They left a pile of value on the table to take Garret Greenfield this early at the 180th overall pick. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
R6.18
· Pick 193
· Ro Torrence
· CB
· rank 177
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Ro Torrence at the Round 6 slot is the proof. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
