B
New England Patriots
The steal of the weekend belongs to the Patriots and Fitzgerald: B.
by Hushpuppie13 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 4 steals
· 3 reaches
Every so often the board makes a mistake, and the Patriots were there to profit. Ryan Fitzgerald, the No. 117 name on the board, should have been long gone before the 238th overall pick. They moved the roster forward and banked a B for it.
They are betting Henderson proves the room right and everyone else wrong. That interior defensive lineman hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. Edge rusher is handled and the depth chart looks a good deal healthier for it.
Bottom line, more hits than misses and a roster nudged the right way.
Pick-by-Pick
Abdul Carter at Round 1, Pick 4 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Matthew Golden in No. 38 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They paid a round early for Donovan Jackson in pick No. 69, more than the board wanted. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A big swing on Jermari Harris at the 77th overall pick, well ahead of any board in the building. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Nice patience on Dylan Fairchild, who had no business lasting to slot 104. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Taking Danny Stutsman in the 143rd pick is close to grand larceny; a linebacker that good had no business lasting this long. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Xzavier Henderson at the Round 7 slot is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Raheim Sanders in pick 220 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They barely believed it either: Ryan Fitzgerald still on the board at the Round 7 slot. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.