B-
New England Patriots
The Patriots won the night they stopped Shough from sliding. Grade: B-.
by EMANPATSFAN ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 4 steals
· 1 reaches
Thirty-one other rooms let Tyler Shough slide, and the Patriots were the ones holding the card at No. 240. Highway robbery. Call it a sensible B-, earned the boring way.
If Cypress II pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about. They punted on interior defensive lineman, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
Not a headline-grabber, but a perfectly good weekend's work.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 4 they get a building block for the line. A real need, handled.
Taking Nick Emmanwori in the Round 2 slot is close to grand larceny; a safety that good had no business lasting this long. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
No edge and no loss on Jayden Higgins in the 69th pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A clean, defensible pick in pick 77 with a little surplus value in Donovan Ezeiruaku. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Jaylin Noel at the 105th overall pick is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Jeffrey Bassa at slot 145 is the proof. It adds depth where they could use a little.
They will replay Donovan Edwards at Round 7, Pick 1 for years; that is how good the value is. It fills a real need, too.
A real head-scratcher, Fentrell Cypress II in No. 222 is miles ahead of his ranking. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
A top-tier quarterback at a bargain, Tyler Shough in the 240th pick, plain and simple. A need, and now a little less of one.