A-
New England Patriots
The Patriots let Fitzgerald fall and pounced. Final grade: A-.
by hewdog ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 7 steals
· 1 reaches
The value of the weekend has a name and a slot: Ryan Fitzgerald, the Round 7 slot, roughly 115 picks past where he belonged.
That wide receiver hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. The Phillips pick is the one the value grade keeps tripping over.
In the end it comes back to Mykel Williams, and a haul good enough to build on right away.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 14 they get juice off the edge. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
A clean, defensible pick in pick No. 38 with a little surplus value in Grey Zabel. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They robbed the room for Jalon Walker here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Harold Fannin Jr. at slot 69 is money in the bank, a tight end taken below his worth. A need, and now a little less of one.
They paid a round early for Jordan Phillips in the Round 4 slot, more than the board wanted. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Value with a capital V on O'Donnell Fortune in the 139th overall pick, a genuine coup. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
You do not let an offensive lineman like Jake Majors reach the 145th pick and blink. They did not. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Cam Skattebo in Round 7, Pick 1 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. The roster fit checks out.
Somehow Smael Mondon Jr. was still sitting there in No. 222, and they pounced on premier linebacker value. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
Ryan Fitzgerald in the 234th overall pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Miles Frazier in Round 7, Pick 22 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.