B+
New England Patriots
Leonard should have been long gone. The Patriots pounced, and earned a B+.
by Rob ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 5 steals
· 4 reaches
The Patriots spent the weekend waiting on one name, and it fell: Riley Leonard, the No. 75 name on the board, in the Round 7 slot. Good, not great, and the B+ says as much.
Oatis has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced. The dealing alone would carry a lesser class.
For all the activity, edge rusher went untouched, which is hard to explain. Kolton Miller gives the group a proven body among the projects.
Nothing here to lose sleep over, and plenty to feel decent about.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 14 they get a long-term starter on the line. A real need, handled.
In No. 26 they get a pocket-collapsing interior rusher, and a steal at that. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In the 27th overall pick they get a sticky cover corner at a price that makes it sweeter. More want than need.
Nice patience on Colston Loveland, who had no business lasting to the 34th pick. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A top-tier offensive lineman at a bargain, Emery Jones in pick 66, plain and simple. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A real head-scratcher, Aireontae Ersery in Round 4, Pick 2 is miles ahead of his ranking. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Alfred Collins at the Round 5 slot is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They paid up for Andrew Mukuba at pick No. 142 when waiting would have done the job. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They talked themselves into Jaheim Oatis at pick 184, and the board did not agree. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Riley Leonard at the 194th overall pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.