You build a draft on nights like this. Kamal Hadden had no business being available in the 229th pick, and the Patriots did the only sane thing and turned in the card.
Everything downstream of J.J. McCarthy depends on J.J. McCarthy, and the building knows it. They handed away value on the phones that the picks cannot earn back.
The Stover pick is fine in a vacuum, less so with edge rusher, interior defensive lineman and other spots still on the board. The edge rusher hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
Every board in the league had McCarthy lower, and that gap is the story. It is a win-now wager, and the future is the stake.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even, and edge rusher is still a hole.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.3
· Pick 3
· Marvin Harrison Jr.
· WR
· rank 1
In Round 1, Pick 3 they get a true top target at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
R1.17
· Pick 17
· J.J. McCarthy
· QB
· rank 32
In slot 17 they get their guy under center for the next decade, though they paid up to get him. A clean fit for the roster.
R2.2
· Pick 34
· Ja'Tavion Sanders
· TE
· rank 36
They paid sticker price for Ja'Tavion Sanders in the Round 2 slot, and that is fine. A need, and now a little less of one.
R3.1
· Pick 65
· Patrick Paul
· OT
· rank 67
No drama and no debate, Patrick Paul went about where he belonged in pick 65. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
R3.4
· Pick 68
· Jeremiah Trotter Jr.
· LB
· rank 60
They read the board right and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. was the payoff at the 68th overall pick. A minor itch, scratched.
R4.4
· Pick 104
· Cade Stover
· TE-EDGE
· rank 82
A surprising call. With edge rusher, interior defensive lineman and other spots still to address, they spent pick No. 104 on Cade Stover, a TE-EDGE they were not short of.
R4.6
· Pick 106
· Dominick Puni
· OT
· rank 88
They will replay Dominick Puni at Round 4, Pick 6 for years; that is how good the value is. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
R4.36
· Pick 136
· Jarvis Brownlee Jr.
· CB
· rank 112
The board fumbled Jarvis Brownlee Jr. all the way to slot 136, and they scooped it up. It adds depth where they could use a little.
R7.9
· Pick 229
· Kamal Hadden
· CB
· rank 166
Kamal Hadden in the 229th pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
