B+
New England Patriots
The Patriots won the weekend at the trade table. Grade: B+.
by murrayscott9 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 7 steals
· 3 reaches
The Patriots did not so much draft Justin Walley as overpay for him, 57 picks clear of his grade. It sets an uneasy tone for the weekend. More right than wrong, and a B+ to match.
Majors falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch. They robbed the room blind at the table, and it lifts the grade on its own.
It is not that Lawson is a bad player; it is that the Patriots had louder needs to answer first. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through interior defensive lineman.
All told, a draft that does its job without fuss, and there is real value in that.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a quarterback's worst nightmare. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Nice patience on Jalon Walker, who had no business lasting to slot 37. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Tyler Booker in the 38th pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They reached into another round for Charles Grant, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A tidy bit of business in pick 77, where TreVeyon Henderson graded well above the range. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
The eyebrow-raiser of the weekend. They went linebacker with Deontae Lawson while clear needs at interior defensive lineman and quarterback sat open.
They will replay Jake Majors at the 143rd overall pick for years; that is how good the value is. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Oronde Gadsden II in pick No. 179 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Jordan Hancock at No. 216 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Nick Nash at the 217th pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They talked themselves into Justin Walley at pick 220, and the board did not agree. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Steal is underselling it; Jamon Dumas-Johnson at slot 241 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.