B-
New England Patriots
Grand theft in the 222nd pick: the Patriots steal Mondon Jr. and grade out a B-.
by TFCart ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 9 steals
· 1 reaches
This is the pick they will still be bragging about in July: Smael Mondon Jr., the No. 110 name on the board, stolen at No. 222.
The Jones reach is the anchor dragging on the value grade. They handed away value on the phones that the picks cannot earn back. The interior defensive lineman hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
All told, a draft that does its job without fuss, and there is real value in that.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 12th pick they get an anchor for the offensive line at fair value. A clean fit for the roster.
A slide stopped in pick 38, with Emeka Egbuka worth more than the price. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
No drama and no debate, Donovan Ezeiruaku went about where he belonged in Round 3, Pick 5. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Darien Porter in No. 76 is fair value, right on his grade. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Sai'vion Jones in the Round 3 slot, miles early. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A top-tier tight end at a bargain, Gunnar Helm in pick No. 137, plain and simple. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Barrett Carter in slot 145 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
They barely believed it either: Carson Schwesinger still on the board at the 150th overall pick. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
A running back of that caliber at pick 182 is the definition of value, full stop. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Jake Majors in the 187th pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A market-rate wide receiver, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Theo Wease Jr.. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Ryan Fitzgerald at Round 7, Pick 1 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
The board fumbled Smael Mondon Jr. all the way to the 222nd overall pick, and they scooped it up. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
Jay Higgins at slot 240 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Stacking talent where they were already deep.