B-
New England Patriots
The Patriots won the night they stopped Carter from sliding. Grade: B-.
by EKB1 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 5 steals
· 7 reaches
Somewhere a general manager is explaining how Barrett Carter got past him. The Patriots do not have to explain a thing at slot 236.
The cost of the Hancock reach is exactly the players who went right after him. They will regret leaving safety for another day if the season turns on it.
It is a bet on later, and a defensible one for a team playing the long game. They left with edge rusher solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but safety.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 9 they get protection for the quarterback, even if it was a touch early. A clean fit for the roster.
They let Tate Ratledge come to them and pounced at the 40th pick. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Tyler Warren this early at Round 2, Pick 9. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They reached a country mile for Jalon Walker at pick 72, and the board is aghast. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A big swing on Jordan Hancock at No. 86, well ahead of any board in the building. It adds depth where they could use a little.
They talked themselves into Jayden Higgins at the 108th overall pick, and the board did not agree. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
TreVeyon Henderson at the Round 4 slot is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A wild overpay on Nazir Stackhouse in pick No. 144, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They barely believed it either: Jonah Monheim still on the board at the Round 7 slot. A need, and now a little less of one.
They will replay Jake Briningstool at pick No. 220 for years; that is how good the value is. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
The board fumbled Barrett Carter all the way to the 236th pick, and they scooped it up. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Value said wait; Kaden Prather in No. 256 says they were not listening. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.