C+
New England Patriots
The phones sank the Patriots this weekend: C+.
by Mcronin ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 5 steals
· 5 reaches
If confidence were a draft strategy, the Patriots would have aced it. Jimmy Horn Jr. at the 208th overall pick is 79 spots clear of where he belonged. Some smart calls, some head-scratchers, and a C+ in the wash.
They banked enough surplus on Henderson to cover a lot of smaller sins. The dealing is the wound this class cannot quite close. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped quarterback, which is a strange place to end up.
It nets out as a middle-of-the-pack haul that neither helps nor hurts much.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 4 they get an island corner. More want than need.
A slide stopped in the Round 2 slot, with Emeka Egbuka worth more than the price. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Dylan Fairchild at the 67th pick is money in the bank, a offensive lineman taken below his worth. It fills a real need, too.
Dani Dennis-Sutton at slot 79 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
You do not let a running back like TreVeyon Henderson reach pick 103 and blink. They did not. A need, and now a little less of one.
A top-tier linebacker at a bargain, Barrett Carter in pick No. 124, plain and simple. A minor itch, scratched.
Trey Zuhn III at the 138th pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. The roster fit checks out.
A real head-scratcher, Jimmy Horn Jr. in Round 6, Pick 33 is miles ahead of his ranking. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They read the board right and Hunter Wohler was the payoff at pick No. 219. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Xavier Truss well ahead of where he belonged. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They talked themselves into Jamaree Caldwell at pick 238, and the board did not agree. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.