A-
New England Patriots
The Patriots worked the phones like thieves and earned a A-.
by Brady ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 30 picks
· 19 steals
· 8 reaches
The Patriots bet big and early on Jaylen Harrell, 68 picks ahead of the board. Bold does not always mean right.
They banked enough surplus on Dixon to cover a lot of smaller sins. Every deal seemed to tilt their way, which is not luck.
A strong weekend's work, and a rare one to find this little fault with.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 14th pick they get a weapon on the perimeter. Exactly the need they had to hit.
No edge and no loss on Adonai Mitchell in No. 34; it is a wash and a sensible one. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Amarius Mims at pick 44 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. The roster fit checks out.
They will replay Tyler Guyton at the Round 2 slot for years; that is how good the value is. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A slide stopped in slot 50, with Ladd McConkey worth more than the price. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Steal is underselling it; Troy Franklin at pick No. 53 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A tidy bit of business in the 67th pick, where Kingsley Suamataia graded well above the range. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Spencer Rattler this early at pick 77. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Fair-plus on Blake Corum, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Somehow Malachi Corley was still sitting there in the Round 3 slot, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They robbed the room for Xavier Legette here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Khyree Jackson at Round 4, Pick 11 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Brenden Rice in pick No. 112. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Matt Goncalves slid further than he should have, and slot 113 is lovely value for the offensive lineman. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A real head-scratcher, Nelson Ceaser in No. 115 is miles ahead of his ranking. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Michael Pratt at the Round 4 slot is a conviction pick that outran the value. It fills a real need, too.
Braelon Allen at pick No. 137 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A need, and now a little less of one.
Jaylen Harrell at the 139th pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Logan Lee well ahead of where he belonged. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They talked themselves into Myles Murphy at the 179th overall pick, and the board did not agree. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Luke McCaffrey in pick 180 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Mason McCormick in slot 185 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A safety of that caliber at No. 193 is the definition of value, full stop. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Curtis Jacobs is a better player than the Round 6 slot suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
They reached a country mile for Eyabi Okie-Anoma at slot 218, and the board is aghast. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Taking Erick All in Round 7, Pick 2 is close to grand larceny; a tight end that good had no business lasting this long. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They barely believed it either: Tahj Washington still on the board at the 223rd pick. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Circle this one: Johnny Dixon at pick 231 is a fall that decides a draft. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
Devin Culp in the 256th overall pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Garret Greenfield in pick No. 257 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.