B
New England Patriots
The Patriots won the weekend at the trade table. Grade: B.
by SD ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 15 picks
· 6 steals
· 5 reaches
The move everyone will second-guess came early. The Patriots reached some 62 spots for Adam Randall, and value like that does not grow back. It nets out to a B, which feels about right.
They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast. The edge rusher spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. If one pick saves this weekend, it is Lance.
The veteran additions, A.J. Brown chief among them, give the class a floor the rookies alone would not.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
The board had Anthony Hill Jr. higher than slot 47, and the linebacker fell to them anyway. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Taking Bryce Lance in the Round 4 slot is close to grand larceny; a wide receiver that good had no business lasting this long. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Malik Muhammad in pick 120 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Good price on Jack Endries in Round 4, Pick 25, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
No edge and no loss on DeMonte Capehart in pick No. 131; it is a wash and a sensible one. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Dametrious Crownover slipping to No. 156 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Kaleb Elarms-Orr in Round 5, Pick 31 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
They went early on VJ Payne in No. 177, and the value did not follow. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They paid up for Taylen Green at the Round 5 slot when waiting would have done the job. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Aaron Graves in the 191st overall pick is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Jeremiah Wright in the 197th pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. The roster fit checks out.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Ephesians Prysock at slot 198 is the proof. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
Fair-plus on Dallen Bentley, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A real head-scratcher, Adam Randall in pick 212 is miles ahead of his ranking. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Harrison Wallace III at the 218th overall pick is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.