A-
New England Patriots
The Patriots robbed the room for King. Final grade: A-.
by Biggs7079 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 6 steals
· 2 reaches
You build a draft on nights like this. Kalen King had no business being available in Round 6, Pick 4, and the Patriots did the only sane thing and turned in the card. Very little went wrong, and the A- is earned.
They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher. The cost of the Johnson reach is exactly the players who went right after him.
Add it up and this is about as clean as a draft weekend gets.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 7 they get a weapon on the perimeter. The biggest hole, addressed.
They let Troy Fautanu come to them and pounced at No. 34. The roster fit checks out.
A reach for J.J. McCarthy in the 38th pick; a little patience would have been rewarded. It fills a real need, too.
Xavier Legette at the 79th overall pick nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Blake Corum at the Round 4 slot is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Theo Johnson at pick No. 108 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Circle this one: Kalen King at pick 179 is a fall that decides a draft. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
A wide receiver of that caliber at Round 7, Pick 7 is the definition of value, full stop. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Taking Elijah Jones in the 231st pick is close to grand larceny; a cornerback that good had no business lasting this long. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
The board had Tyler Owens higher than pick No. 240, and the safety fell to them anyway. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.