B
New England Patriots
The Patriots let Higgins fall into their laps, and walked away with a B.
by EMANPATSFAN ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 8 steals
· 0 reaches
Somebody in the 238th pick was going to get robbed, and it turned out to be the rest of the league. The Patriots sat still while Jay Higgins, the No. 134 name on the board, slid all the way to them, then sprinted to the podium. Solid and sensible more than spectacular: a B.
That edge rusher hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. Wide receiver is handled and the depth chart looks a good deal healthier for it.
Good work on the whole, with edge rusher the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
They took Mason Graham at par in Round 1, Pick 4, which is nothing to complain about. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Somehow Tyler Warren was still sitting there in the Round 2 slot, and they pounced on premier tight end value. A need, and now a little less of one.
Circle this one: Jihaad Campbell at pick No. 69 is a fall that decides a draft. A minor itch, scratched.
Jalen Royals in No. 77 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Andrew Mukuba at the 104th pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They will replay Dylan Sampson at slot 143 for years; that is how good the value is. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
The board fumbled Jonah Monheim all the way to pick 217, and they scooped it up. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
You do not let a safety like Billy Bowman Jr. reach the 220th overall pick and blink. They did not. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Jay Higgins in the 238th overall pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.