B
New England Patriots
The Patriots let White III fall and pounced. Final grade: B.
by SEANROMIZA ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 7 steals
· 1 reaches
The trade table was a mismatch, and the Patriots were on the right end of it, hauling in a fortune in surplus value.
If one pick saves this weekend, it is White III. The edge rusher spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. Job largely done: wide receiver settled and 4 of 8 of the wish list covered.
It is a win-now wager, and the future is the stake.
Bottom line, more hits than misses and a roster nudged the right way.
Pick-by-Pick
The board had cheaper options than Ozzy Trapilo at the Round 3 slot, and it noticed. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They let Savion Williams come to them and pounced at slot 106. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Malachi Moore at the 144th pick is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
The board had James Burnip higher than pick No. 176, and the specialist fell to them anyway. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
A clean, defensible pick in the 203rd overall pick with a little surplus value in Jay Higgins. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Nazir Stackhouse is a better player than pick 217 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A quiet steal in the 220th overall pick: R.J. Mickens for less than the market said. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Steal is underselling it; Ricky White III at the 238th pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Jermari Harris in pick 244 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.