B-
New England Patriots
No fireworks, just a tidy B- for the Patriots.
by 97 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 4 steals
· 3 reaches
The Patriots treated their own grade as gospel and everyone else's as noise, spending No. 238 on Aidan Keanaaina a full 101 spots early.
Johnson falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch. They punted on edge rusher, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
Job largely done: interior defensive lineman settled and 5 of 8 of the wish list covered. They reloaded the coverage unit in bulk.
Nothing here to lose sleep over, and plenty to feel decent about.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a ballhawk on the outside. More want than need.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Tyler Booker. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Hollin Pierce this early at No. 67. The roster fit checks out.
You do not let a running back like Kaleb Johnson reach slot 79 and blink. They did not. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A quiet steal in Round 4, Pick 2: Kevin Winston Jr. for less than the market said. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Smael Mondon Jr. in the 138th overall pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A minor itch, scratched.
A tight end of that caliber at the 219th pick is the definition of value, full stop. It fills a real need, too.
Garrett Dellinger at No. 220 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Aidan Keanaaina at the 238th overall pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.