C+
New England Patriots
The Patriots finally solved quarterback, and it carried them to a C+.
by Brop9404 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 10 steals
· 2 reaches
This is the pick they will still be bragging about in July: Joe Milton III, the No. 164 name on the board, stolen at slot 232. It washes out to a C+, no better and no worse.
The whole projection now runs through Michael Penix Jr.; hit there and everything else looks smarter. They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down.
The Goncalves pick is the one the value grade keeps tripping over. Leaving running back unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
The verdict is a shrug for now, with the swing picks left to write the real ending.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 17 they get their guy under center for the next decade at a price that makes it sweeter. A real need, handled.
A slide stopped in pick No. 34, with Kool-Aid McKinstry worth more than the price. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
The board had cheaper options than Patrick Paul at pick 38, and it noticed. It fills a real need, too.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Xavier Legette in No. 48. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
No edge and no loss on Ja'Lynn Polk in the Round 2 slot; it is a wash and a sensible one. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Jackson Powers-Johnson is a better player than Round 3, Pick 4 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Matt Goncalves at the 82nd overall pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Gabriel Murphy slid further than he should have, and slot 96 is lovely value for the edge rusher. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A tidy bit of business in pick No. 103, where McKinnley Jackson graded well above the range. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They read the board right and Tommy Eichenberg was the payoff at the 139th pick. A minor itch, scratched.
Kitan Oladapo in No. 162 is fair value, right on his grade. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Nice patience on Zion Tupuola-Fetui, who had no business lasting to the 182nd overall pick. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They will replay LaDarius Henderson at pick 224 for years; that is how good the value is. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Somehow Joe Milton III was still sitting there in pick No. 232, and they pounced on premier quarterback value. The roster fit checks out.