A
New England Patriots
The Patriots let McConkey fall and pounced. Final grade: A.
by Pat4082 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 15 picks
· 12 steals
· 0 reaches
The board owed the Patriots one, and it paid up: Ladd McConkey, the No. 33 name on the board, sitting there at slot 68 like a gift left on the doorstep. A near-flawless weekend of work, and a A to cap it.
The phones were where this weekend was really won. The James pick reads as want over need, and the roster will feel it at edge rusher, interior defensive lineman and other spots. That edge rusher hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall.
The imported veterans give this class a floor the draft picks could not on their own.
Bottom line, they left the weekend a clearly better team, and they earned every bit of it.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 16th pick they get an anchor for the offensive line. A clean fit for the roster.
In Round 1, Pick 19 they get a cornerstone up front at fair value. A real need, handled.
Brian Thomas Jr. at pick No. 48 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Taking Ladd McConkey in the Round 3 slot is close to grand larceny; a wide receiver that good had no business lasting this long. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Graham Barton at the 79th overall pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Circle this one: Trey Benson at slot 94 is a fall that decides a draft. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Johnny Wilson in pick 96 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A cornerback of that caliber at No. 125 is the definition of value, full stop. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Of all the spots to shop, they chose cornerback. DJ James in the Round 4 slot leaves edge rusher, interior defensive lineman and other spots for later.
Jordan Travis in pick No. 139 lands just on the right side of the ledger. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Jaylen Wright at the 182nd pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. The roster fit checks out.
Josh Proctor in No. 209 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
You do not let a linebacker like JD Bertrand reach the 221st overall pick and blink. They did not. A minor itch, scratched.
Value with a capital V on Kenny Logan Jr. in pick 224, a genuine coup. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They barely believed it either: Myles Jones still on the board at Round 7, Pick 12. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.