B+
New England Patriots
The Patriots fleeced the room on the phones and earned a B+.
by Caveman ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 1 steals
· 0 reaches
Give the war room a raise for the dealing alone. The Patriots came out ahead on every exchange that mattered, and it was not close. They moved the roster forward and banked a B+ for it.
If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through quarterback. However the rest shakes out, Barton at that price is a win they earned. Luke Fortner gives the group a proven body among the projects.
Trading back for volume was the quiet throughline of their weekend.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the quarterback spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 17 they get a disruptor off the edge. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In Round 1, Pick 23 they get a weapon on the perimeter at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
The board had Graham Barton higher than slot 34, and the offensive lineman fell to them anyway. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They took Payton Wilson at par in pick 48, which is nothing to complain about. It adds depth where they could use a little.
By-the-book stuff, Xavier Legette at the Round 3 slot squarely in line with his ranking. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A straight-up fair deal on Cole Bishop at the 103rd pick, value and slot in agreement. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They paid sticker price for Jarrian Jones in No. 137, and that is fine. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Javion Cohen. A need, and now a little less of one.
Fabien Lovett in the 180th pick is fair value, right on his grade. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A clean, defensible pick in No. 193 with a little surplus value in Tahj Washington. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
No drama and no debate, Dominique Hampton went about where he belonged in Round 7, Pick 11. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.