C+
New England Patriots
Best value of the weekend goes to the Patriots for Simon: C+.
by Hushpuppie13 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 4 steals
· 4 reaches
Call it larceny. Cody Simon sat on the board until the Round 7 slot, and the Patriots did not need to be asked twice. The good and the questionable cancel out to a C+.
If Johnson pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped interior defensive lineman, which is a strange place to end up. Job largely done: edge rusher settled and 5 of 8 of the wish list covered.
The trenches got the money picks, top to bottom.
It grades out a shrug today, with plenty of room to move either way.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get protection for the quarterback, reach and all.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Tez Johnson this early at slot 40. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Jermari Harris in pick No. 71 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
They reached a country mile for Luke Kandra at the 77th overall pick, and the board is aghast. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
The board fumbled Kyle Kennard all the way to pick 107, and they scooped it up. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Good price on Oronde Gadsden II in the 143rd pick, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
You do not let a linebacker like Cody Simon reach No. 219 and blink. They did not. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Somehow Raheim Sanders was still sitting there in Round 7, Pick 8, and they pounced on premier running back value. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Jared Wilson at the 236th pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. The roster fit checks out.