B+
New England Patriots
Grand theft in Round 7, Pick 1: the Patriots steal Paul Jr. and grade out a B+.
by mwalsh837 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 7 steals
· 0 reaches
You could see the war room lean forward. Chris Paul Jr. at slot 217 is the sort of fall that does not happen, except it just did. It nets out to a B+, which feels about right.
They will regret leaving interior defensive lineman for another day if the season turns on it. Job largely done: edge rusher settled and 4 of 8 of the wish list covered. The future picks help the war chest more than the win-now roster.
Nearly every premium pick went to that side of the ball.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but interior defensive lineman.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 4 they get a bendy edge with upside. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
A quiet steal in the 38th overall pick: Emeka Egbuka for less than the market said. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They robbed the room for Xavier Watts here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Devin Neal in Round 4, Pick 4 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It fills a real need, too.
A top-tier linebacker at a bargain, Barrett Carter in No. 143, plain and simple. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
The board fumbled Chris Paul Jr. all the way to pick 217, and they scooped it up. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
They barely believed it either: Carson Schwesinger still on the board at the 220th pick. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Ollie Gordon II in slot 241 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.