B+
New England Patriots
The Patriots won the night they stopped Fitzgerald from sliding. Grade: B+.
by Hushpuppie13 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 4 steals
· 4 reaches
Somebody in No. 238 was going to get robbed, and it turned out to be the rest of the league. The Patriots sat still while Ryan Fitzgerald, the No. 108 name on the board, slid all the way to them, then sprinted to the podium. A sturdy weekend that grades out a B+.
The Jackson pick is the one the value grade keeps tripping over. Every deal seemed to tilt their way, which is not luck. Leaving interior defensive lineman unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but interior defensive lineman.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a quarterback's worst nightmare. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
By-the-book stuff, Matthew Golden at pick No. 37 squarely in line with his ranking. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Value said wait; Donovan Jackson in the 38th pick says they were not listening. A need, and now a little less of one.
A wild overpay on Jermari Harris in No. 69, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Dylan Fairchild in slot 77 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. The roster fit checks out.
Malachi Moore at pick 104 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They will replay Danny Stutsman at the 143rd overall pick for years; that is how good the value is. A minor need, but a need all the same.
They reached into another round for Xzavier Henderson, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Circle this one: Cam Skattebo at pick 220 is a fall that decides a draft. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They robbed the room for Ryan Fitzgerald here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.