B
New England Patriots
Barton should have been long gone. The Patriots pounced, and earned a B.
by Rubble19 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 6 steals
· 1 reaches
Call it larceny. Lander Barton sat on the board until the Round 7 slot, and the Patriots did not need to be asked twice. It does the job without flash, and the B reflects it.
They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down. If Cornelius pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about. A whole weekend of picks and interior defensive lineman is somehow still a want.
The roster is better shaped than it was, with edge rusher chief among the fixes.
Solid rather than spectacular, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 14 they get a bendy edge with upside. The biggest hole, addressed.
Nothing to complain about; Tate Ratledge went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Jayden Higgins at the 69th pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Denzel Burke at pick No. 77 is money in the bank, a cornerback taken below his worth. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Ajani Cornelius this early at slot 81. A need, and now a little less of one.
A tight end of that caliber at Round 4, Pick 4 is the definition of value, full stop. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They will replay Nicholas Singleton at No. 143 for years; that is how good the value is. The roster fit checks out.
Steal is underselling it; Sonny Styles at the 188th overall pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
The board fumbled Lander Barton all the way to pick No. 217, and they scooped it up. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Ollie Gordon II in the Round 7 slot is a gift, value that borders on unfair. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.