B
New England Patriots
A sensible, unshowy class lands the Patriots a B.
by SD ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 3 steals
· 4 reaches
Somewhere a scout is still blinking. The Patriots spent the 247th overall pick on Aidan Hubbard, a name the board had a full 111 spots lower.
Landing Muhammad that late papers over a lot of smaller sins. They will regret leaving quarterback for another day if the season turns on it.
Adding Dexter Lawrence II by trade rounds out the weekend beyond the rookies.
In sum, a sensible class that nudges the roster the right way.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 31 they get a double-digit-sack hope, even if it was a touch early. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Anthony Hill Jr. in Round 2, Pick 31 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Bryce Lance in pick No. 95 lands just on the right side of the ledger. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They barely believed it either: Malik Muhammad still on the board at pick 125. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
A quiet steal in the Round 4 slot: Jack Endries for less than the market said. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Louis Moore in No. 171. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Anez Cooper at pick No. 191 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the offensive lineman. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
No edge and no loss on VJ Payne in slot 198; it is a wash and a sensible one. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
By-the-book stuff, Aaron Graves at the 202nd pick squarely in line with his ranking. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Jack Kelly at No. 239 is a conviction pick that outran the value. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
Adam Randall at Round 7, Pick 25 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They reached into another round for Aidan Hubbard, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.