B-
New England Patriots
More right than wrong for the Patriots, and a B- to prove it.
by trey ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 3 steals
· 3 reaches
Call it belief, call it a gut call, but Oluwafemi Oladejo at pick No. 144 is 94 spots clear of consensus, and that is the headline. A sturdy weekend that grades out a B-.
Sampson falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch. A whole weekend of picks and interior defensive lineman is somehow still a want.
On the needs board they went 6 of 8, with edge rusher the one that mattered most.
Not a headline-grabber, but a perfectly good weekend's work.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 4 they get protection for the quarterback. A clean fit for the roster.
A tidy bit of business in the 38th overall pick, where Malaki Starks graded well above the range. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A straight-up fair deal on Zy Alexander at Round 3, Pick 5, value and slot in agreement. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Tai Felton in the Round 3 slot is fair value, right on his grade. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Steal is underselling it; Dylan Sampson at No. 106 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Oluwafemi Oladejo well ahead of where he belonged. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Jeremy Crawshaw in Round 7, Pick 1 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
The board fumbled Jay Higgins all the way to the 220th overall pick, and they scooped it up. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
A real head-scratcher, Ben Yurosek in slot 238 is miles ahead of his ranking. A need, and now a little less of one.