B+
New England Patriots
The Patriots let Restrepo fall into their laps, and walked away with a B+.
by Rob ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 19 picks
· 14 steals
· 2 reaches
Somebody in the Round 7 slot was going to get robbed, and it turned out to be the rest of the league. The Patriots sat still while Xavier Restrepo, the No. 15 name on the board, slid all the way to them, then sprinted to the podium.
Every board in the league had Overton lower, and that gap is the story. They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast.
Nothing here to lose sleep over, and plenty to feel decent about.
Pick-by-Pick
Circle this one: Travis Hunter at the Round 1 slot is a fall that decides a draft. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
They robbed the room for Ashton Jeanty here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They took Colston Loveland at par in slot 68, which is nothing to complain about. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Tyler Warren in the 69th overall pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Kenneth Grant at Round 3, Pick 16 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Value said wait; LT Overton in pick No. 93 says they were not listening. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
You do not let an offensive lineman like Aireontae Ersery reach pick 103 and blink. They did not. The roster fit checks out.
A interior defensive lineman of that caliber at the 115th pick is the definition of value, full stop. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Jahdae Barron at the 121st overall pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Derrick Harmon in pick 128 is fair value, right on his grade. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A top-tier wide receiver at a bargain, Tre Harris in pick No. 129, plain and simple. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Wyatt Milum in the Round 4 slot is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A need, and now a little less of one.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Jihaad Campbell at slot 139. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Bryce Foster in No. 193 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It fills a real need, too.
Cam Ward in Round 7, Pick 3 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Josaiah Stewart at the 220th pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Taking Xavier Restrepo in No. 228 is close to grand larceny; a wide receiver that good had no business lasting this long. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Deontae Lawson at pick No. 235 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
They barely believed it either: Dont'e Thornton Jr. still on the board at the Round 7 slot. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.