B-
New England Patriots
Nothing loud, just a tidy B- for the Patriots.
by 12 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 3 steals
· 4 reaches
The Patriots spent real capital to be 83 picks early on Tim Smith, and the board is going to hold them to it. A dependable weekend that grades out a B-.
Getting Arroyo where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but edge rusher.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 3 they get a potential shutdown corner. More want than need.
Tyler Booker at slot 39 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They reached into another round for Hollin Pierce, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. The roster fit checks out.
The board had cheaper options than Charles Grant at the Round 3 slot, and it noticed. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Kevin Winston Jr. at the 106th overall pick is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Circle this one: Smael Mondon Jr. at No. 141 is a fall that decides a draft. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Tim Smith this early at slot 221. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They barely believed it either: Elijah Arroyo still on the board at the 223rd overall pick. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Elijhah Badger at pick No. 235 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.