C
New England Patriots
The Patriots bled value on every deal, hence the C.
by Brady ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 17 picks
· 2 steals
· 7 reaches
The Taulia Tagovailoa selection is the head-turner. The Patriots reached 94 spots for him, and it will define how this weekend is remembered. The good and the questionable cancel out to a C.
The trade table is where this weekend went wrong. The Williams steal is the beam this whole class leans on.
The edge rusher hole is the one line item this class does not answer. The roster is better shaped than it was, with wide receiver chief among the fixes.
In the end, a coin-flip class: fine today, with a wide range of outcomes ahead.
Pick-by-Pick
They paid sticker price for Adonai Mitchell in the 34th overall pick, and that is fine. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
No drama and no debate, Ladd McConkey went about where he belonged in pick 36. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A reach for Kingsley Suamataia in slot 40; a little patience would have been rewarded. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
No edge and no loss on Malachi Corley in the 49th pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Value said wait; Spencer Rattler in Round 3, Pick 4 says they were not listening. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They paid up for Bucky Irving at the Round 3 slot when waiting would have done the job. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A straight-up fair deal on Matt Goncalves at the Round 3 slot, value and slot in agreement. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Cam Hart in slot 103 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Sataoa Laumea at pick 111 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They took Tyler Davis at par in No. 115, which is nothing to complain about. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Trevor Keegan at the 137th overall pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
The board had cheaper options than Luke McCaffrey at the 139th pick, and it noticed. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Jarrian Jones in pick No. 149 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
A big swing on Steele Chambers at Round 6, Pick 5, well ahead of any board in the building. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Taulia Tagovailoa in slot 193, miles early. The roster fit checks out.
A reach on Frank Gore Jr. in the 214th pick; the board had better options right there. It fills a real need, too.
Evan Williams at pick No. 231 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.