B
New England Patriots
The Patriots won the night they stopped Mondon Jr. from sliding. Grade: B.
by 3xcluded ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 4 steals
· 3 reaches
You build a draft on nights like this. Smael Mondon Jr. had no business being available in the 217th overall pick, and the Patriots did the only sane thing and turned in the card. Nothing here to lose sleep over; call it a B.
They are betting Horn Jr. proves the room right and everyone else wrong. They punted on interior defensive lineman, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
The roster is better shaped than it was, with edge rusher chief among the fixes. Building through the lines is a philosophy, and they stuck to it.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 4th overall pick they get a premier pass rusher. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
They went early on Aireontae Ersery in Round 2, Pick 6, and the value did not follow. The roster fit checks out.
They took Jayden Higgins at par in No. 69, which is nothing to complain about. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Dylan Sampson at the Round 3 slot is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A need, and now a little less of one.
Circle this one: Xavier Watts at pick No. 104 is a fall that decides a draft. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Cobee Bryant at slot 143 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A minor need, but a need all the same.
A top-tier linebacker at a bargain, Smael Mondon Jr. in pick 217, plain and simple. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Jimmy Horn Jr.. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Brant Kuithe at the 238th pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.