B+
New England Patriots
The Patriots bet the future on McCarthy. The board says B+.
by EMANPATSFAN ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 8 steals
· 1 reaches
The one hole that towered over the rest is filled. The Patriots spent their marquee pick on J.J. McCarthy, and for the first time in a while there is a real answer at quarterback.
Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Pritchett. Every deal seemed to tilt their way, which is not luck.
They covered a lot of ground and still skipped edge rusher, which is a strange place to end up.
In sum, a sensible class that nudges the roster the right way.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 6 they get protection for the quarterback. A clean fit for the roster.
In No. 27 they get a franchise quarterback at fair value. A real need, handled.
JC Latham at Round 2, Pick 2 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It fills a real need, too.
Circle this one: Brian Thomas Jr. at pick No. 47 is a fall that decides a draft. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Xavier Legette at the Round 3 slot is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
The board fumbled Ricky Pearsall all the way to the 90th pick, and they scooped it up. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Trey Benson at pick 103 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. A need, and now a little less of one.
They paid a round early for Dallin Holker in the 137th overall pick, more than the board wanted. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They robbed the room for Dylan Laube here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Nehemiah Pritchett in pick No. 193 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
A quiet steal in the 231st pick: JD Bertrand for less than the market said. A minor need, but a need all the same.