B+
New England Patriots
The Patriots cashed the board's mistake on Skattebo: B+.
by Norumbega ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 5 steals
· 3 reaches
The best pick of the weekend was also the simplest. The Patriots watched Cam Skattebo slide 115 picks past his grade and did not hesitate. It nets out to a B+, which feels about right.
They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast. Every board in the league had Nash lower, and that gap is the story. A whole weekend of picks and edge rusher is somehow still a want.
A competent weekend that does not make headlines and does not need to.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 12 they get a cornerstone up front at fair value.
They went early on Tate Ratledge in the 58th pick, and the value did not follow. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Xavier Restrepo in No. 69 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A reach on Denzel Burke in the Round 3 slot; the board had better options right there. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
A market-rate linebacker, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Carson Schwesinger. A minor itch, scratched.
Aeneas Peebles at slot 104 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Nick Nash at pick No. 120 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They robbed the room for Devin Neal here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They barely believed it either: Luke Lachey still on the board at Round 7, Pick 1. The roster fit checks out.
Cam Skattebo at slot 220 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
The board fumbled Akili Arnold all the way to the 238th overall pick, and they scooped it up. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.