B
New England Patriots
Briningstool should have been long gone. The Patriots pounced, and earned a B.
by James B ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 7 steals
· 0 reaches
The board owed the Patriots one, and it paid up: Jake Briningstool, the No. 163 name on the board, sitting there at the 217th pick like a gift left on the doorstep.
That interior defensive lineman hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. Value over need was the throughline, for better and worse.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but interior defensive lineman.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 4 they get a double-digit-sack hope. The biggest hole, addressed.
Omarion Hampton in Round 2, Pick 6 lands just on the right side of the ledger. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A straight-up fair deal on Jayden Higgins at slot 69, value and slot in agreement. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They let Isaiah Bond come to them and pounced at No. 90. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They read the board right and Ozzy Trapilo was the payoff at pick 101. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A top-tier tight end at a bargain, Mason Taylor in the 106th pick, plain and simple. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Taking Cam Skattebo in the Round 5 slot is close to grand larceny; a running back that good had no business lasting this long. It fills a real need, too.
Circle this one: Jake Briningstool at the 217th overall pick is a fall that decides a draft. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Jaylen Reed in No. 220 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They barely believed it either: Karene Reid still on the board at slot 238. A minor need, but a need all the same.