B
New England Patriots
The Patriots finally solved quarterback, and it carried them to a B.
by patricksiska ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 7 steals
· 2 reaches
The Patriots spent the pick that matters most on J.J. McCarthy, and a roster that has been waiting on a passer can start to take shape.
Landing Milton that late papers over a lot of smaller sins. A whole weekend of picks and edge rusher is somehow still a want. The Goncalves reach is the anchor dragging on the value grade.
The roster is better shaped than it was, with wide receiver chief among the fixes.
Good work on the whole, with edge rusher the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 15 they get a long-term answer under center, even if it was a touch early.
They paid sticker price for Jordan Morgan in pick No. 34, and that is fine. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Brian Thomas Jr. at Round 2, Pick 14 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A quiet steal in the 68th overall pick: Payton Wilson for less than the market said. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
They let Cade Stover come to them and pounced at the Round 3 slot. A need, and now a little less of one.
Dadrion Taylor-Demerson in the 103rd pick is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Matt Goncalves in slot 104 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. It fills a real need, too.
Braelon Allen at pick 117 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. The roster fit checks out.
Jarrian Jones at pick No. 137 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A minor itch, scratched.
Kamal Hadden at Round 6, Pick 5 is money in the bank, a cornerback taken below his worth. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
Curtis Jacobs at slot 193 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Kendall Milton in the 231st pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.