D-
New England Patriots
The Patriots won the night they stopped Wilson from sliding. Grade: D-.
by PoppaShart ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 13 picks
· 6 steals
· 1 reaches
You can lose a draft before you make a pick. The Patriots did it at the trade table, overpaying to chase players the board did not price nearly as high. Hard to defend, and the D- reflects that.
Spending an early pick on cornerback with interior defensive lineman and safety open is the decision the grade keeps circling back to. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through interior defensive lineman. The cost of the Barner reach is exactly the players who went right after him.
They banked enough surplus on Wilson to cover a lot of smaller sins.
It is a steep hill from here, and the grade knows it.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 3rd overall pick they get a building block for the line. A real need, handled.
Nice patience on Bo Nix, who had no business lasting to slot 33. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They paid sticker price for Brenden Rice in Round 3, Pick 4, and that is fine. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They did well to land Gabriel Murphy in the 87th pick, just ahead of his grade. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A straight-up fair deal on Zak Zinter at the Round 3 slot, value and slot in agreement. The roster fit checks out.
Khyree Jackson at No. 102 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Roman Wilson in the 104th pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Of all the spots to shop, they chose cornerback. Jarrian Jones in pick 136 leaves interior defensive lineman and safety for later.
Will Shipley at Round 5, Pick 1 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A quiet steal in No. 173: Khristian Boyd for less than the market said. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
AJ Barner in the Round 6 slot is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and JD Bertrand at the 222nd overall pick is the proof. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Taking Christian Jones in pick No. 229 is close to grand larceny; an offensive lineman that good had no business lasting this long. It fills a real need, too.