F
New England Patriots
The Patriots let Paul Jr. fall into their laps, and walked away with a F.
by Dpilon ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 4 steals
· 5 reaches
You can fall in love with a player. You are not supposed to marry him in the wrong round. The Patriots did exactly that with Shilo Sanders in pick No. 202.
Paul Jr. at that cost is the sort of edge that compounds over a roster. The dealing is the wound this class cannot quite close.
For all the activity, edge rusher went untouched, which is hard to explain. It is a win-now wager, and the future is the stake.
In short, a weekend the front office will want to forget in a hurry.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 4 they get a No. 1 receiver. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Donovan Jackson at the 37th pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
TreVeyon Henderson in the Round 2 slot is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Maxwell Hairston at pick No. 69 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Jihaad Campbell in the 77th pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Dylan Fairchild at slot 105. A need, and now a little less of one.
They robbed the room for Lathan Ransom here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Circle this one: Chris Paul Jr. at the 172nd overall pick is a fall that decides a draft. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Shilo Sanders well ahead of where he belonged. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A reach on Bryson Nesbit in No. 257; the board had better options right there. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.