A-
New England Patriots
The Patriots robbed the room for Higgins. Final grade: A-.
by JCarr724 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 5 steals
· 2 reaches
You build a draft on nights like this. Jay Higgins had no business being available in the 240th overall pick, and the Patriots did the only sane thing and turned in the card.
The edge rusher spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. They will need Slater to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it.
Adding Josh Downs by trade rounds out the weekend beyond the rookies. They left with wide receiver solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off.
A strong weekend's work, and a rare one to find this little fault with.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 14 they get a pocket-collapsing interior rusher at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
They jumped the gun on Aireontae Ersery, taking him earlier than his grade liked. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
You do not let a safety like Nick Emmanwori reach Round 2, Pick 26 and blink. They did not. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Dylan Fairchild in the 90th overall pick is fair value, right on his grade. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They did well to land Savion Williams in No. 105, just ahead of his grade. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
TreVeyon Henderson in slot 120 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Jackson Slater at pick No. 126 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It fills a real need, too.
A top-tier tight end at a bargain, Mason Taylor in the 145th pick, plain and simple. The roster fit checks out.
Jeffrey Bassa at pick 219 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A minor need, but a need all the same.
A market-rate wide receiver, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Sam Brown. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Somehow Jay Higgins was still sitting there in the Round 7 slot, and they pounced on premier linebacker value. Stacking talent where they were already deep.