B+
New England Patriots
The steal of the weekend belongs to the Patriots and Lawson: B+.
by Rob ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 22 picks
· 19 steals
· 1 reaches
The best pick of the weekend was also the simplest. The Patriots watched Deontae Lawson slide 177 picks past his grade and did not hesitate. A sturdy weekend that grades out a B+.
The dealing alone would carry a lesser class. They will need Ersery to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it. Edge rusher was the priority and it is no longer a question, which is most of the job.
Not a headline-grabber, but a perfectly good weekend's work.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 11th overall pick they get a long-term starter on the line. A clean fit for the roster.
In Round 1, Pick 28 they get a press-man option on the boundary, and a steal at that. More want than need.
They barely believed it either: Ashton Jeanty still on the board at slot 41. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Tyler Booker at the 51st pick is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A straight-up fair deal on Colston Loveland at the Round 2 slot, value and slot in agreement. The roster fit checks out.
You do not let an interior defensive lineman like Walter Nolen reach pick No. 72 and blink. They did not. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Jahdae Barron in pick 90 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Value with a capital V on Kenneth Grant in No. 92, a genuine coup. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Steal is underselling it; Tre Harris at No. 108 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A top-tier offensive lineman at a bargain, Wyatt Milum in pick 109, plain and simple. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Aireontae Ersery. It fills a real need, too.
They robbed the room for Jihaad Campbell here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
A edge rusher of that caliber at the Round 5 slot is the definition of value, full stop. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Quinshon Judkins in the 158th overall pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Taking Cam Ward in slot 164 is close to grand larceny; a quarterback that good had no business lasting this long. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Ashton Gillotte at pick No. 165 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Circle this one: Smael Mondon Jr. at the Round 5 slot is a fall that decides a draft. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
Sonny Styles at the 167th overall pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Xavier Restrepo at No. 168 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Tahj Brooks in pick 196 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
The board fumbled Deontae Lawson all the way to slot 228, and they scooped it up. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
They will replay Bryce Foster at pick No. 233 for years; that is how good the value is. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.