B
New England Patriots
The Patriots answered their biggest question with Williams. Grade: B.
by SS Trixie ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 7 picks
· 4 steals
· 1 reaches
The Patriots spent the pick that matters most on Caleb Williams, and a roster that has been waiting on a passer can start to take shape. They moved the roster forward and banked a B for it.
Every board in the league had Bell lower, and that gap is the story. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped edge rusher, which is a strange place to end up.
Getting Williams where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 3 they get a franchise quarterback. A clean fit for the roster.
Brian Thomas Jr. in the 34th overall pick lands just on the right side of the ledger. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
The board fumbled Graham Barton all the way to slot 68, and they scooped it up. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A real head-scratcher, Jaheim Bell in Round 4, Pick 4 is miles ahead of his ranking. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Kris Abrams-Draine is a better player than the Round 4 slot suggests; smart patience, rewarded. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
They read the board right and Dadrion Taylor-Demerson was the payoff at No. 182. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Steal is underselling it; Isaiah Williams at the 229th pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.