B+
New England Patriots
Larceny in the 221st pick lands the Patriots a B+, Singleton and all.
by Jasonmroll14 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 7 steals
· 4 reaches
The board owed the Patriots one, and it paid up: Nicholas Singleton, the No. 102 name on the board, sitting there at No. 221 like a gift left on the doorstep. More right than wrong, and a B+ to match.
The Grimes reach is the anchor dragging on the value grade. They will answer for taking linebacker early while edge rusher, wide receiver and other spots went begging. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher.
The imported veterans give this class a floor the draft picks could not on their own.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but edge rusher.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 14 they get protection for the quarterback at fair value. A real need, handled.
Taking Malaki Starks in pick No. 39 is close to grand larceny; a safety that good had no business lasting this long. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Value with a capital V on Jalon Walker in the Round 2 slot, a genuine coup. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Donovan Jackson this early at slot 70. A need, and now a little less of one.
Tyler Warren in the 80th pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They zigged when the board said zag, taking Barrett Carter at linebacker with edge rusher, wide receiver and other spots open.
They robbed the room for Sebastian Castro here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Seth McLaughlin at pick 170 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Tony Grimes. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
A running back of that caliber at the Round 7 slot is the definition of value, full stop. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Jared Wilson is a better player than pick No. 223 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They reached a country mile for Oscar Delp at Round 7, Pick 21, and the board is aghast. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.