B
New England Patriots
Grand theft in slot 143: the Patriots steal Lawson and grade out a B.
by gormenghast20 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 5 steals
· 2 reaches
The Patriots did not reach, did not trade up, did not blink. They just waited, and Deontae Lawson fell into slot 143. They moved the roster forward and banked a B for it.
They will need Slackman to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it. A whole weekend of picks and edge rusher is somehow still a want. The roster is better shaped than it was, with wide receiver chief among the fixes.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the edge rusher spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 4th overall pick they get a true top target. Exactly the need they had to hit.
A top-tier running back at a bargain, Omarion Hampton in pick No. 38, plain and simple. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Jihaad Campbell in the 69th pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
You do not let an interior defensive lineman like Tyleik Williams reach slot 77 and blink. They did not. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Gunnar Helm in pick 105 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Taking Deontae Lawson in the Round 5 slot is close to grand larceny; a linebacker that good had no business lasting this long. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
A clean, defensible pick in Round 7, Pick 1 with a little surplus value in O'Donnell Fortune. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Quinn Carroll at No. 220 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A wild overpay on Joey Slackman in slot 241, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.