B+
New England Patriots
The Patriots let Schrader fall and pounced. Final grade: B+.
by Brop9404 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 15 picks
· 3 steals
· 10 reaches
You build a draft on nights like this. Cody Schrader had no business being available in Round 7, Pick 2, and the Patriots did the only sane thing and turned in the card. Call it a sensible B+, earned the boring way.
Reaching for Travis left real value on the table behind him. The phones were where this weekend was really won.
They covered a lot of ground and still skipped interior defensive lineman, which is a strange place to end up.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the interior defensive lineman spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
Ja'Tavion Sanders is a better player than pick No. 42 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A big swing on Patrick Paul at Round 2, Pick 16, well ahead of any board in the building. It fills a real need, too.
Ja'Lynn Polk at the 50th pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A reasonable price with a little left over, T.J. Tampa in slot 53. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Xavier Legette in No. 59 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A wild overpay on Dominick Puni in the Round 3 slot, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Ben Sinnott at pick 96 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Jordan Travis well ahead of where he belonged. A need, and now a little less of one.
They reached into another round for Kitan Oladapo, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Zion Tupuola-Fetui this early at pick 136. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They paid up for Layden Robinson at the 161st pick when waiting would have done the job. The roster fit checks out.
Nice patience on Kamal Hadden, who had no business lasting to the 182nd overall pick. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
A running back of that caliber at pick No. 222 is the definition of value, full stop. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A tidy little value on Frank Gore Jr. in Round 7, Pick 9, a step better than break-even. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Taulia Tagovailoa. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.