A-
New England Patriots
The Patriots worked the phones like thieves and earned a A-.
by Gibbs ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 2 steals
· 4 reaches
Somewhere a scout is still blinking. The Patriots spent No. 145 on Dayon Hayes, a name the board had a full 161 spots lower.
The Thornton Jr. value carries more weight than any single miss elsewhere. They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast.
A whole weekend of picks and interior defensive lineman is somehow still a want.
Add it up and few war rooms did better this weekend, Nick Emmanwori and all.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 24th pick they get an enforcer at safety. Exactly the need they had to hit.
A straight-up fair deal on Matthew Golden at pick 38, value and slot in agreement. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They paid up for Maxwell Hairston at slot 69 when waiting would have done the job. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Tate Ratledge in the Round 3 slot is exactly on the number, no argument either way. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Dylan Fairchild at No. 97 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the offensive lineman. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Kaimon Rucker this early at pick No. 105. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They reached a country mile for Dayon Hayes at the Round 5 slot, and the board is aghast. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They robbed the room for Ollie Gordon II here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A wild overpay on Barryn Sorrell in the 222nd pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Circle this one: Dont'e Thornton Jr. at the 240th overall pick is a fall that decides a draft. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.