B+
New England Patriots
The Patriots bet the future on Penix Jr.. The board says B+.
by PoppaShart ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 6 steals
· 2 reaches
Start where it matters. The Patriots took Michael Penix Jr. to run the offense for the next decade, and every other decision this weekend bends around that one. It nets out to a B+, which feels about right.
The phones were where this weekend was really won. They will regret leaving safety for another day if the season turns on it.
Add it up and it is a good, unfussy class.
Pick-by-Pick
Michael Penix Jr. at the Round 1 slot is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Good price on Graham Barton in Round 2, Pick 2, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. A need, and now a little less of one.
Nothing to complain about; Keon Coleman went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A clean, defensible pick in the 44th overall pick with a little surplus value in Chris Braswell. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. at the 48th pick is the proof. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Kingsley Suamataia at No. 68 is money in the bank, a offensive lineman taken below his worth. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
By-the-book stuff, Jalen McMillan at pick No. 102 squarely in line with his ranking. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Johnny Wilson at pick 136 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Fabien Lovett at slot 140 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Kamal Hadden at Round 6, Pick 4. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
A premium they did not need to pay, Jared Wiley a notch or two before his time. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
The board had Jaylan Ford higher than pick 207, and the linebacker fell to them anyway. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Emani Bailey is a better player than the 219th overall pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. It fills a real need, too.
They paid a round early for Brevyn Spann-Ford in pick No. 231, more than the board wanted. The roster fit checks out.