B
New England Patriots
The Patriots won the night they stopped Neal from sliding. Grade: B.
by Redman ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 6 steals
· 1 reaches
The Patriots spent the weekend waiting on one name, and it fell: Devin Neal, the No. 95 name on the board, in Round 7, Pick 27.
That edge rusher hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. The Williams pick is the one the value grade keeps tripping over. On the needs board they went 4 of 8, with wide receiver the one that mattered most.
The phones were busy but the ledger stayed level.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but edge rusher.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a plug-and-play piece up front. A clean fit for the roster.
A clean, defensible pick in the 36th overall pick with a little surplus value in Tate Ratledge. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Taking Omarion Hampton in No. 68 is close to grand larceny; a running back that good had no business lasting this long. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Somehow Isaiah Bond was still sitting there in the 83rd pick, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They barely believed it either: Smael Mondon Jr. still on the board at Round 4, Pick 4. It adds depth where they could use a little.
A top-tier offensive lineman at a bargain, Jake Majors in pick No. 157, plain and simple. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Xavier Nwankpa at pick 220 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Gentry Williams in slot 224, miles early. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
The board fumbled Devin Neal all the way to slot 241, and they scooped it up. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.