B+
New England Patriots
The Patriots answered their biggest question with Maye. Grade: B+.
by EMANPATSFAN ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 2 steals
· 1 reaches
The search is over. The Patriots handed the keys to Drake Maye, and the whole operation now runs on his development.
Bishop falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch. The trade ledger is the best part of the whole weekend. The Stover pick reads as want over need, and the roster will feel it at edge rusher and interior defensive lineman.
That edge rusher hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but edge rusher.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 4 they get the arm they will build around at fair value. A clean fit for the roster.
By-the-book stuff, Jordan Morgan at slot 27 squarely in line with his ranking. A need, and now a little less of one.
Tyler Guyton at pick No. 34 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Brenden Rice in the 68th pick is fair value, right on his grade. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
The needs board was loud and they turned it down, spending the Round 3 slot on Cade Stover with edge rusher and interior defensive lineman unsolved.
Audric Estime at the 104th overall pick nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A premium they did not need to pay, Dallin Holker a notch or two before his time. The roster fit checks out.
They took Javon Baker at par in No. 182, which is nothing to complain about. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Cole Bishop at the 188th pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A top-tier cornerback at a bargain, Andru Phillips in the Round 7 slot, plain and simple. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.