B
New England Patriots
The Patriots checked most of the boxes and earned a B.
by Viet17 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 16 picks
· 2 steals
· 10 reaches
The Riley Mahlman pick is the one that will follow the Patriots into the fall. They took him 128 spots ahead of his grade, and the board is not shy about saying so.
Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Watts. That edge rusher hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. With edge rusher and quarterback unsolved, spending premium capital on cornerback is the choice that costs them.
The trade work was a quiet net positive.
Good work on the whole, with edge rusher the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 25 they get a building block for the line, a steep price for the projection. A real need, handled.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Trey Amos. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
No drama and no debate, Tyler Warren went about where he belonged in slot 45. A need, and now a little less of one.
Nice patience on Jihaad Campbell, who had no business lasting to No. 53. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Alfred Collins at the 71st overall pick is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They robbed the room for Xavier Watts here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Jack Bech at pick No. 81 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
The needs board was loud and they turned it down, spending Round 3, Pick 20 on Tacario Davis with edge rusher and quarterback unsolved.
Tez Johnson at the 89th overall pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Jonah Monheim this early at the Round 4 slot. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A big swing on Ollie Gordon II at slot 126, well ahead of any board in the building. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Riley Mahlman at the 143rd pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Jared Wilson in No. 219 is fair value, right on his grade. The roster fit checks out.
Clay Webb at pick 222 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Francisco Mauigoa at No. 236 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
A real head-scratcher, Oscar Delp in pick 241 is miles ahead of his ranking. It fills a real need, too.