B
New England Patriots
The Patriots let Campbell fall and pounced. Final grade: B.
by EMANPATSFAN ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 6 picks
· 3 steals
· 1 reaches
When a board-topper like Jihaad Campbell slides to Round 3, Pick 13, you do not overthink it, and the Patriots did not.
They covered a lot of ground and still skipped edge rusher, which is a strange place to end up. If Zabel pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about. The roster is better shaped than it was, with wide receiver chief among the fixes.
Building through the lines is a philosophy, and they stuck to it.
Good work on the whole, with edge rusher the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a pocket-collapsing interior rusher at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Grey Zabel in pick 38, miles early. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
You do not let a tight end like Harold Fannin Jr. reach No. 69 and blink. They did not. The roster fit checks out.
Jihaad Campbell at slot 77 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
They will replay Andrew Mukuba at pick No. 105 for years; that is how good the value is. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
No edge and no loss on Patrick Bryant in the 143rd overall pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.