B
New England Patriots
A respectable, level-headed haul for the Patriots: B.
by DewMayo ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 16 picks
· 4 steals
· 2 reaches
Priorities are a choice, and the Patriots made a strange one, taking Cade Stover at TE-EDGE in the 103rd pick with edge rusher crying out for the pick instead. More right than wrong, and a B to match.
That edge rusher hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. If Williams pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but edge rusher.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 15 they get a cornerstone up front. A clean fit for the roster.
A market-rate quarterback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on J.J. McCarthy. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They paid sticker price for Brenden Rice in No. 68, and that is fine. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A surprising call. With edge rusher still to address, they spent pick No. 103 on Cade Stover, a TE-EDGE they were not short of.
Khyree Jackson at Round 4, Pick 16 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. A minor need, but a need all the same.
James Williams at the 117th overall pick is a conviction pick that outran the value. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Braelon Allen at slot 139 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They took Javon Baker at par in the 174th pick, which is nothing to complain about. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Fair-plus on Curtis Jacobs, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Julian Pearl in pick No. 188 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. A fine player at a spot low on the priority list.
Josh Proctor in Round 6, Pick 18 lands just on the right side of the ledger. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Jordan Magee at pick 211 is the proof. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
A quiet steal in the 224th pick: Myles Jones for less than the market said. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
By-the-book stuff, Brevyn Spann-Ford at slot 225 squarely in line with his ranking. It fills a real need, too.
No edge and no loss on Joshua Cephus in No. 232; it is a wash and a sensible one. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Zion Logue in the 245th overall pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.