B+
New England Patriots
A masterclass at the trade table lands the Patriots a B+.
by Rob ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 3 steals
· 4 reaches
There is reaching, and then there is Cornelius Johnson at slot 222. The Patriots jumped the board by 158 and dared it to prove them wrong. It nets out to a B+, which feels about right.
The Turner steal is the beam this whole class leans on. They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast.
The safety hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
Good work on the whole, with safety the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 4 they get a go-to option on the outside. Exactly the need they had to hit.
A slide stopped in pick 34, with JC Latham worth more than the price. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A straight-up fair deal on J.J. McCarthy at slot 35, value and slot in agreement. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Taking Dallas Turner in the 66th pick is close to grand larceny; an edge rusher that good had no business lasting this long. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They paid up for Christian Mahogany at the Round 3 slot when waiting would have done the job. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Leonard Taylor III at the 104th overall pick jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A offensive lineman of that caliber at pick No. 136 is the definition of value, full stop. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Christian Jones in slot 182, miles early. The roster fit checks out.
A wild overpay on Cornelius Johnson in Round 7, Pick 2, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Josh Wallace at No. 229 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the cornerback. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.