B
New England Patriots
The Patriots answered their biggest question with Maye. Grade: B.
by EMANPATSFAN ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 2 steals
· 0 reaches
The Patriots spent the pick that matters most on Drake Maye, and a roster that has been waiting on a passer can start to take shape.
If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through safety. If one pick saves this weekend, it is Rouse. A modest surplus at the table, banked quietly.
Caden Sterns gives the group a proven body among the projects.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the safety spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
A market-rate quarterback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Drake Maye. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A tidy little value on Adonai Mitchell in the Round 2 slot, a step better than break-even. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Cade Stover in the 76th pick is fair value, right on his grade. The roster fit checks out.
They did well to land Cam Hart in the 103rd overall pick, just ahead of his grade. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
McKinnley Jackson at pick No. 121 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
No drama and no debate, Jaylin Simpson went about where he belonged in No. 137. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
A quiet steal in pick 180: Walter Rouse for less than the market said. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Value with a capital V on Khristian Boyd in slot 193, a genuine coup. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Frank Gore Jr. at Round 7, Pick 11 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the running back. It patches a soft spot without any drama.