A
New England Patriots
The Patriots cashed the board's mistake on James: A.
by bringbackbrady ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 6 steals
· 1 reaches
Every so often the board makes a mistake, and the Patriots were there to profit. Jordan James, the No. 119 name on the board, should have been long gone before the 169th pick. The sum of the weekend is a deserved A.
The trade ledger is the best part of the whole weekend. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher. Jones Jr. has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced.
Bottom line, with Jalon Walker leading the way, this is a class that should pay off fast and rarely be regretted.
Pick-by-Pick
Jalon Walker slipping to No. 33 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Emeka Egbuka slid further than he should have, and Round 2, Pick 6 is lovely value for the wide receiver. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They barely believed it either: Aireontae Ersery still on the board at the 67th pick. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
By-the-book stuff, Tate Ratledge at the Round 3 slot squarely in line with his ranking. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Good price on Maxwell Hairston in the 77th overall pick, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Emery Jones Jr. at pick 105 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It fills a real need, too.
Jordan Phillips in slot 145 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
The board fumbled Jordan James all the way to pick No. 169, and they scooped it up. A need, and now a little less of one.
Jordan Hancock at No. 219 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.