B
New England Patriots
The Patriots cashed the board's mistake on Gabriel: B.
by [email protected] ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 3 steals
· 2 reaches
The board owed the Patriots one, and it paid up: Dillon Gabriel, the No. 128 name on the board, sitting there at the 219th pick like a gift left on the doorstep.
Reaching for Sorrell left real value on the table behind him. Every deal seemed to tilt their way, which is not luck. For all the activity, interior defensive lineman went untouched, which is hard to explain.
Pat Surtain II gives the group a proven body among the projects.
Bottom line, more hits than misses and a roster nudged the right way.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 4th pick they get a sticky cover corner at fair value. Need was not the driver here.
A tidy little value on Xavier Restrepo in No. 69, a step better than break-even. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Demetrius Knight Jr. in pick No. 77 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
They took Hollin Pierce at par in the 105th overall pick, which is nothing to complain about. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Elijah Roberts at Round 5, Pick 6 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Dillon Gabriel at slot 219 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A need, and now a little less of one.
Donovan Edwards at the Round 7 slot is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Barryn Sorrell in pick 240 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.