A
New England Patriots
Penix Jr. is the Patriots' new face under center. Grade: A.
by Brady ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 5 steals
· 0 reaches
The Patriots did not reach, did not trade up, did not blink. They just waited, and Kamal Hadden fell into pick 231.
The whole projection now runs through Michael Penix Jr.; hit there and everything else looks smarter. The trade ledger is the best part of the whole weekend.
They covered a lot of ground and still skipped safety, which is a strange place to end up.
Add it up and few war rooms did better this weekend, Michael Penix Jr. and all.
Pick-by-Pick
Nice patience on Michael Penix Jr., who had no business lasting to the 24th pick. It fills a real need, too.
By-the-book stuff, Xavier Legette at slot 34 squarely in line with his ranking. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Jermaine Burton at slot 56 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Cade Stover in the 68th pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A straight-up fair deal on Dominick Puni at No. 87, value and slot in agreement. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
No edge and no loss on Mekhi Wingo in the 103rd overall pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Matt Goncalves at pick No. 137 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Circle this one: Trevor Keegan at pick 180 is a fall that decides a draft. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Marcus Harris at Round 6, Pick 18 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Kamal Hadden in the Round 7 slot is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.