B
New England Patriots
The steal of the weekend belongs to the Patriots and Rice: B.
by jgeorge21 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 3 steals
· 1 reaches
Every so often the board makes a mistake, and the Patriots were there to profit. Brenden Rice, the No. 96 name on the board, should have been long gone before the 137th pick. It does the job without flash, and the B reflects it.
Leaving edge rusher unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall. The McLachlan pick is the one the value grade keeps tripping over.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 3 they get a difference-maker at receiver. The biggest hole, addressed.
Jordan Morgan in the 34th pick is fair value, right on his grade. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Fair-plus on Kamren Kinchens, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A market-rate interior defensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Maason Smith. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
The board fumbled Brenden Rice all the way to No. 137, and they scooped it up. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
You do not let a cornerback like Dwight McGlothern reach the Round 6 slot and blink. They did not. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
They paid up for Tanner McLachlan at pick 193 when waiting would have done the job. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
JD Bertrand at slot 231 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.