A
New England Patriots
Best value of the weekend goes to the Patriots for Simon: A.
by Watts ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 16 picks
· 13 steals
· 2 reaches
You could see the war room lean forward. Cody Simon at No. 238 is the sort of fall that does not happen, except it just did. One of the weekend's best, top to bottom, and a A to show for it.
If Hassanein pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about. They robbed the room blind at the table, and it lifts the grade on its own. Leaving interior defensive lineman unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
They left with edge rusher solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off.
Bottom line, they left the weekend a clearly better team, and they earned every bit of it.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 31st pick they get a downhill thumper at linebacker, and a steal at that.
Luther Burden III at Round 2, Pick 6 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They robbed the room for Malaki Starks here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Armand Membou in pick 63 is fair value, right on his grade. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A tight end of that caliber at No. 69 is the definition of value, full stop. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Denzel Burke at the 81st overall pick is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Steal is underselling it; Tyler Warren at the Round 3 slot is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A need, and now a little less of one.
Willie Lampkin at slot 100 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Ahmed Hassanein at No. 104 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Barrett Carter in the 143rd overall pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
Devin Neal at the Round 6 slot is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
The board fumbled Tahj Brooks all the way to Round 6, Pick 20, and they scooped it up. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Xavier Nwankpa in the 217th pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Nice patience on Seth McLaughlin, who had no business lasting to slot 220. It fills a real need, too.
A top-tier offensive lineman at a bargain, Miles Frazier in pick 232, plain and simple. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Taking Cody Simon in pick No. 238 is close to grand larceny; a linebacker that good had no business lasting this long. Stacking talent where they were already deep.