B-
New England Patriots
The Patriots did the meat-and-potatoes work well: B-.
by SD ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 3 steals
· 7 reaches
There is conviction, and then there is this. The Patriots took Trey Moore a full 52 picks ahead of where the board had him, an overdraft steep enough that it colors the whole weekend. Call it a sensible B-, earned the boring way.
On value alone, Hill Jr. makes the weekend a net positive. They went 8 of 8 on their needs, which is most of what a draft is for. Nearly every premium pick went to that side of the ball.
The phones were busy but the ledger stayed level.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 31 they get a problem off the edge, reach and all. The biggest hole, addressed.
A top-tier linebacker at a bargain, Anthony Hill Jr. in Round 2, Pick 27, plain and simple. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Value with a capital V on Zakee Wheatley in the 95th overall pick, a genuine coup. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Trey Moore at pick 125 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
No drama and no debate, DeMonte Capehart went about where he belonged in slot 131. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Somehow Dametrious Crownover was still sitting there in the Round 5 slot, and they pounced on premier offensive lineman value. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Value said wait; Ephesians Prysock in slot 159 says they were not listening. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
A reach for Josh Cameron in the 171st pick; a little patience would have been rewarded. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Dallen Bentley in pick No. 198 lands just on the right side of the ledger. A need, and now a little less of one.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Cole Payton in the Round 6 slot, miles early. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Jack Kelly at the 212th overall pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Adam Randall this early at pick 247. It fills a real need, too.