A
New England Patriots
The Patriots let McGlothern fall and pounced. Final grade: A.
by Lewi ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 16 picks
· 9 steals
· 0 reaches
Every so often the board makes a mistake, and the Patriots were there to profit. Dwight McGlothern, the No. 161 name on the board, should have been long gone before Round 7, Pick 11.
The dealing alone would carry a lesser class. They will answer for taking cornerback early while safety went begging. They will regret leaving safety for another day if the season turns on it.
Bottom line, they did the job about as well as it can be done.
Pick-by-Pick
A tidy bit of business in pick No. 18, where Rome Odunze graded well above the range. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They let Kool-Aid McKinstry come to them and pounced at pick 34. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
A quiet steal in Round 2, Pick 5: Chop Robinson for less than the market said. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A straight-up fair deal on Jeremiah Trotter Jr. at No. 69, value and slot in agreement. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
A curious use of the Round 3 slot. Safety needed the pick; a cornerback in T.J. Tampa did not.
No drama and no debate, Dominick Puni went about where he belonged in slot 84. The roster fit checks out.
Brenden Rice is a better player than the 104th overall pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Tyler Davis at the 123rd pick is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the interior defensive lineman. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They took Roger Rosengarten at par in the 137th overall pick, which is nothing to complain about. A need, and now a little less of one.
A market-rate linebacker, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Tommy Eichenberg. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
Luke McCaffrey at pick No. 170 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Nice patience on Jaheim Bell, who had no business lasting to the Round 6 slot. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Jase McClellan at pick 193 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Joe Milton III at the 195th pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A tight end of that caliber at slot 226 is the definition of value, full stop. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Dwight McGlothern at No. 231 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.