B
New England Patriots
The Patriots cashed the board's mistake on Anderson: B.
by Dnice ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 9 steals
· 0 reaches
The rest of the league will want that one back. Aaron Anderson tumbling to the Patriots in slot 212 is a gift they did not have to think twice about.
Leaving edge rusher unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall. They left with wide receiver solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off.
Value over need was the throughline, for better and worse.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but edge rusher.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a press-man option on the boundary. More want than need.
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren at pick No. 63 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They will replay Max Klare at No. 95 for years; that is how good the value is. It fills a real need, too.
Value with a capital V on Emmett Johnson in pick 125, a genuine coup. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Trey Zuhn III in slot 131. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Charles Demmings in the 171st pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
They read the board right and Kaleb Elarms-Orr was the payoff at Round 6, Pick 10. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
A slide stopped in the 198th overall pick, with Keagen Trost worth more than the price. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A tidy bit of business in Round 6, Pick 21, where Taylen Green graded well above the range. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They robbed the room for Aaron Anderson here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
You do not let a wide receiver like Tyren Montgomery reach pick No. 247 and blink. They did not. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.