B
New England Patriots
The Patriots robbed the room for Jones. Final grade: B.
by Sean r ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 1 steals
· 6 reaches
The Patriots spent the weekend waiting on one name, and it fell: Elijah Jones, the No. 193 name on the board, in pick No. 229.
They will need McCaffrey to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it. They punted on edge rusher, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest. Wide receiver was the priority and it is no longer a question, which is most of the job.
The offense got the lion's share of the attention.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 9 they get a building block for the line. A clean fit for the roster.
They went early on J.J. McCarthy in the 34th pick, and the value did not follow. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Malachi Corley at Round 2, Pick 11 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Patrick Paul in the 68th overall pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Bucky Irving at pick 75 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. The roster fit checks out.
A clean, defensible pick in No. 104 with a little surplus value in Brenden Rice. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Ben Sinnott well ahead of where he belonged. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Luke McCaffrey. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A conviction pick on Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint at pick 182 that the board grades a round light. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They robbed the room for Elijah Jones here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.