C
New England Patriots
A costly weekend of dealing drags the Patriots to a C.
by SD ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 4 steals
· 3 reaches
The move everyone will second-guess came early. The Patriots reached some 34 spots for Adam Randall, and value like that does not grow back. The final tally is a middling C.
They handed away value on the phones that the picks cannot earn back. They banked enough surplus on Muhammad to cover a lot of smaller sins.
They punted on quarterback, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
Bottom line, the swing picks will decide whether this ages well.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 24th pick they get a No. 1 receiver. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Dani Dennis-Sutton at No. 56 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
No edge and no loss on Ja'Kobi Lane in the Round 3 slot; it is a wash and a sensible one. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
You do not let a cornerback like Malik Muhammad reach pick 125 and blink. They did not. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Value with a capital V on Jack Endries in slot 131, a genuine coup. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Travis Burke in Round 5, Pick 31 is fair value, right on his grade. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Nice patience on Kaleb Elarms-Orr, who had no business lasting to pick No. 191. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
VJ Payne at slot 198 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Aaron Graves in the Round 6 slot is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Steal is underselling it; Ephesians Prysock at Round 6, Pick 31 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Adam Randall this early at the 247th pick. A need, and now a little less of one.