C+
New England Patriots
The Patriots robbed the room for Walker. Final grade: C+.
by ZS ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 6 picks
· 3 steals
· 2 reaches
The best pick of the weekend was also the simplest. The Patriots watched Jalon Walker slide 49 picks past his grade and did not hesitate.
The edge rusher spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. Every board in the league had Jackson lower, and that gap is the story.
A small leak at the table, if not a fatal one. They left with interior defensive lineman solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off.
Not a disaster, not a triumph, just a middling class.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 4 they get a plug-and-play piece up front, though they paid up to get him. A clean fit for the roster.
You do not let a safety like Malaki Starks reach pick 38 and blink. They did not. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A clean, defensible pick in slot 69 with a little surplus value in Alfred Collins. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They robbed the room for Jalon Walker here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
They reached a country mile for Domani Jackson at the Round 4 slot, and the board is aghast. It adds depth where they could use a little.
They barely believed it either: Mason Taylor still on the board at No. 143. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.