B-
New England Patriots
The Patriots finally solved quarterback, and it carried them to a B-.
by jgeorge21 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 3 steals
· 2 reaches
After circling the position for what felt like forever, the Patriots committed. Drake Maye is the quarterback now, and the roster gets built to his timeline. A sturdy weekend that grades out a B-.
Smith falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch. Wilson has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped interior defensive lineman, which is a strange place to end up.
All told, a draft that does its job without fuss, and there is real value in that.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 3rd overall pick they get a franchise quarterback at fair value. A clean fit for the roster.
They will replay Taliese Fuaga at pick No. 34 for years; that is how good the value is. The roster fit checks out.
They paid sticker price for Devontez Walker in slot 68, and that is fine. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They talked themselves into Johnny Wilson at No. 103, and the board did not agree. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
The board had cheaper options than Justin Eboigbe at Round 5, Pick 1, and it noticed. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Steal is underselling it; Dwight McGlothern at the Round 6 slot is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Tykee Smith in the 193rd pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Tylan Grable in pick 231 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It fills a real need, too.