B
New England Patriots
Larceny in slot 238 lands the Patriots a B, Fitzgerald and all.
by Hushpuppie13 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 4 steals
· 2 reaches
The value of the weekend has a name and a slot: Ryan Fitzgerald, Round 7, Pick 22, roughly 121 picks past where he belonged. Solid and sensible more than spectacular: a B.
They will need Cornelius to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through interior defensive lineman.
Add it up and it is a good, unfussy class.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 4 they get a quarterback's worst nightmare at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
No edge and no loss on Matthew Golden in the 38th pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Ajani Cornelius at Round 3, Pick 5 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Maxwell Hairston in the 77th overall pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A minor need, but a need all the same.
A slide stopped in pick No. 104, with Dylan Fairchild worth more than the price. A need, and now a little less of one.
Danny Stutsman in slot 143 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
They reached a country mile for Xzavier Henderson at pick 217, and the board is aghast. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
You do not let a linebacker like Jay Higgins reach the Round 7 slot and blink. They did not. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Ryan Fitzgerald at No. 238 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.