B+
New England Patriots
The Patriots won the night they stopped Dart from sliding. Grade: B+.
by Jasonmroll14 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 2 steals
· 5 reaches
Call it larceny. Jaxson Dart sat on the board until the 111th pick, and the Patriots did not need to be asked twice. Solid and sensible more than spectacular: a B+.
McLaughlin has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through interior defensive lineman. They squeezed a little extra out of every move they made.
It is a bet on later, and a defensible one for a team playing the long game.
A workmanlike haul that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
A market-rate edge rusher, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Jack Sawyer. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
No drama and no debate, Wyatt Milum went about where he belonged in the 36th overall pick. The roster fit checks out.
Colston Loveland at slot 52 is a conviction pick that outran the value. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They did well to land Xavier Nwankpa in pick No. 72, just ahead of his grade. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Danny Stutsman in pick 83 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
A reach for Tacario Davis in No. 88; a little patience would have been rewarded. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Trey Zuhn III in the 110th pick is fair value, right on his grade. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
The board fumbled Jaxson Dart all the way to the Round 4 slot, and they scooped it up. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
The board had cheaper options than Samuel Brown at the 144th pick, and it noticed. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A top-tier running back at a bargain, Jaydn Ott in No. 199, plain and simple. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Seth McLaughlin. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They paid sticker price for Tristan Leigh in Round 7, Pick 4, and that is fine. A need, and now a little less of one.
A tidy little value on Germie Bernard in the 228th overall pick, a step better than break-even. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A straight-up fair deal on Mason Taylor at pick No. 233, value and slot in agreement. It fills a real need, too.