B+
New England Patriots
Benson should have been long gone. The Patriots pounced, and earned a B+.
by Pat4082 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 7 steals
· 0 reaches
Call it larceny. Trey Benson sat on the board until the 103rd pick, and the Patriots did not need to be asked twice. Good, not great, and the B+ says as much.
Every deal seemed to tilt their way, which is not luck. Leaving edge rusher unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
The Patriots clearly valued win-now help, adding bodies who have done it before. The offense got the lion's share of the attention.
In sum, a sensible class that nudges the roster the right way.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 17th overall pick they get a plug-and-play piece up front at fair value. A clean fit for the roster.
They paid sticker price for Kamren Kinchens in pick No. 34, and that is fine. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
The board had Brenden Rice higher than the 79th pick, and the wide receiver fell to them anyway. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Trey Benson at Round 4, Pick 3 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Jarrian Jones at the Round 5 slot. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
James Williams at slot 144 is money in the bank, a safety taken below his worth. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A straight-up fair deal on Trey Knox at pick 182, value and slot in agreement. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They robbed the room for Jaylen Wright here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They read the board right and Jha'Quan Jackson was the payoff at pick 224. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Isaiah Neyor in the Round 7 slot. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.