A-
New England Patriots
Best value of the weekend goes to the Patriots for Lambert-Smith: A-.
by hewdog ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 7 steals
· 6 reaches
The best pick of the weekend was also the simplest. The Patriots watched KeAndre Lambert-Smith slide 47 picks past his grade and did not hesitate.
Reaching for Garcia left real value on the table behind him. The dealing alone would carry a lesser class.
They punted on safety, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
Bottom line, they left the weekend a clearly better team, and they earned every bit of it.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 14 they get a disruptor off the edge. Exactly the need they had to hit.
They let Tyleik Williams come to them and pounced at the 49th pick. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Jihaad Campbell at pick No. 51 is the proof. A minor need, but a need all the same.
A big swing on Jake Majors at slot 77, well ahead of any board in the building. The roster fit checks out.
Mason Taylor slid further than he should have, and Round 3, Pick 33 is lovely value for the tight end. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Donovan Jackson at the Round 4 slot is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Rylie Mills at No. 115 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Cam Skattebo at the 140th overall pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Taking O'Donnell Fortune in the Round 5 slot is close to grand larceny; a cornerback that good had no business lasting this long. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
A reach for Teddye Buchanan in the 222nd overall pick; a little patience would have been rewarded. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
Donovan Smith in pick No. 231 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. A need, and now a little less of one.
They paid up for DJ Campbell at No. 234 when waiting would have done the job. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
KeAndre Lambert-Smith in pick 240 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Gino Garcia at slot 247 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.