B
New England Patriots
The Patriots turned the phones into found money: B.
by SD ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 3 steals
· 4 reaches
The Patriots treated their own grade as gospel and everyone else's as noise, spending pick No. 82 on Caden Curry a full 43 spots early.
The phones were where this weekend was really won. Hill Jr. falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch.
They covered a lot of ground and still skipped interior defensive lineman, which is a strange place to end up.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the interior defensive lineman spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a difference-maker at receiver. The biggest hole, addressed.
A top-tier linebacker at a bargain, Anthony Hill Jr. in pick 63, plain and simple. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
A wild overpay on Caden Curry in No. 82, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Taking Zakee Wheatley in pick No. 106 is close to grand larceny; a safety that good had no business lasting this long. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A premium they did not need to pay, Dametrious Crownover a notch or two before his time. It fills a real need, too.
Marlin Klein in the 167th pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Value with a capital V on Ephesians Prysock in pick No. 198, a genuine coup. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Jack Kelly at the 243rd pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Adam Randall in No. 247, miles early. It patches a soft spot without any drama.