B
New England Patriots
The steal of the weekend belongs to the Patriots and Jones: B.
by mick7can ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 2 steals
· 1 reaches
Somewhere a general manager is explaining how Elijah Jones got past him. The Patriots do not have to explain a thing at No. 229.
With edge rusher, interior defensive lineman and other spots unsolved, spending premium capital on OLB-EDGE is the choice that costs them. They will regret leaving edge rusher for another day if the season turns on it. Solomon has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced.
The veteran additions, Preston Smith chief among them, give the class a floor the rookies alone would not.
Good work on the whole, with edge rusher the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 25 they get a blindside protector at fair value. A real need, handled.
They took Adonai Mitchell at par in the 34th pick, which is nothing to complain about. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
J.J. McCarthy in pick 41 is fair value, right on his grade. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A straight-up fair deal on Patrick Paul at slot 68, value and slot in agreement. A need, and now a little less of one.
The eyebrow-raiser of the weekend. They went OLB-EDGE with Javon Solomon while clear needs at edge rusher, interior defensive lineman and other spots sat open.
Theo Johnson at the 130th overall pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Ainias Smith at the Round 4 slot is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Kamal Hadden in Round 6, Pick 7 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Elijah Jones in slot 229 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.