A-
New England Patriots
The Patriots let Mondon Jr. fall into their laps, and walked away with a A-.
by bringbackbrady ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 5 steals
· 1 reaches
When a board-topper like Smael Mondon Jr. slides to No. 144, you do not overthink it, and the Patriots did not.
They robbed the room blind at the table, and it lifts the grade on its own. For all the activity, edge rusher went untouched, which is hard to explain. The cost of the Majors reach is exactly the players who went right after him.
Adding Josh Downs by trade rounds out the weekend beyond the rookies.
In the end it comes back to Tetairoa McMillan, and a haul good enough to build on right away.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 14 they get a go-to option on the outside at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Tyler Warren at pick No. 38 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Aireontae Ersery. A need, and now a little less of one.
By-the-book stuff, Tate Ratledge at the Round 3 slot squarely in line with his ranking. The roster fit checks out.
Jake Majors at No. 77 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They will replay Andrew Mukuba at Round 4, Pick 4 for years; that is how good the value is. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Circle this one: Smael Mondon Jr. at the 144th pick is a fall that decides a draft. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Steal is underselling it; Jordan James at pick 145 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It fills a real need, too.
They read the board right and Ricky White III was the payoff at Round 7, Pick 4. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.