B+
New England Patriots
Neal should have been long gone. The Patriots pounced, and earned a B+.
by KYPATSFAN ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 6 steals
· 1 reaches
The board owed the Patriots one, and it paid up: Devin Neal, the No. 89 name on the board, sitting there at pick No. 144 like a gift left on the doorstep.
The trade ledger is the best part of the whole weekend. For all the activity, interior defensive lineman went untouched, which is hard to explain.
Add it up and it is a good, unfussy class.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 14 they get a building block for the line, even if it was a touch early.
Cameron Williams in the 40th overall pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They did well to land Jack Sawyer in pick No. 41, just ahead of his grade. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
No drama and no debate, TreVeyon Henderson went about where he belonged in slot 72. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Aireontae Ersery in pick 86. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
You do not let a safety like Billy Bowman Jr. reach No. 108 and blink. They did not. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Devin Neal at the 144th pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A need, and now a little less of one.
Tory Horton in the Round 7 slot should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Benjamin Morrison in slot 220 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Aubrey Burks at pick 236 is money in the bank, a safety taken below his worth. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They barely believed it either: Kyren Lacy still on the board at the 256th overall pick. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.