B+
New England Patriots
Larceny in the 217th overall pick lands the Patriots a B+, Fitzgerald and all.
by Storm ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 13 picks
· 7 steals
· 2 reaches
Somebody in slot 217 was going to get robbed, and it turned out to be the rest of the league. The Patriots sat still while Ryan Fitzgerald, the No. 108 name on the board, slid all the way to them, then sprinted to the podium.
They are betting Slackman proves the room right and everyone else wrong. Every deal seemed to tilt their way, which is not luck.
They covered a lot of ground and still skipped quarterback, which is a strange place to end up. The Jack Jones deal gives the class an established piece to lean on.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the quarterback spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
A straight-up fair deal on Abdul Carter at the Round 1 slot, value and slot in agreement. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Nice patience on Tre Harris, who had no business lasting to No. 37. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Omarion Hampton in the 38th overall pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
The board fumbled Xavier Watts all the way to Round 3, Pick 5, and they scooped it up. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Charles Grant in the 81st pick is fair value, right on his grade. It fills a real need, too.
They robbed the room for Gunnar Helm here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They barely believed it either: Demetrius Knight Jr. still on the board at pick No. 117. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Jaylin Noel at pick 143 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Devin Neal at the 178th overall pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. The roster fit checks out.
By-the-book stuff, Clay Webb at the 216th pick squarely in line with his ranking. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Steal is underselling it; Ryan Fitzgerald at Round 7, Pick 1 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
A premium they did not need to pay, Maxen Hook a notch or two before his time. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Joey Slackman in slot 238, miles early. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.