A
New England Patriots
The Patriots let Simon fall into their laps, and walked away with a A.
by Pats Hopeful ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 17 picks
· 8 steals
· 2 reaches
Somewhere a general manager is explaining how Cody Simon got past him. The Patriots do not have to explain a thing at the 219th overall pick. One of the weekend's best, top to bottom, and a A to show for it.
Every board in the league had Jones Jr. lower, and that gap is the story. Every deal seemed to tilt their way, which is not luck. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through quarterback.
Add it up and few war rooms did better this weekend, Mason Graham and all.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 5 they get a wrecking ball inside. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In pick No. 9 they get juice off the edge at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Jonah Savaiinaea. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
By-the-book stuff, Josh Conerly Jr. at the 38th overall pick squarely in line with his ranking. It fills a real need, too.
Emeka Egbuka at the 41st pick is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Denzel Burke at the Round 3 slot is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Tyleik Williams in slot 71. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Jalen Royals at pick 72 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They paid sticker price for Deontae Lawson in the Round 3 slot, and that is fine. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Emery Jones Jr. at No. 94 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A safety of that caliber at Round 3, Pick 31 is the definition of value, full stop. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They barely believed it either: Gunnar Helm still on the board at pick 103. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
The board fumbled Quinshon Judkins all the way to the 138th overall pick, and they scooped it up. The roster fit checks out.
They talked themselves into Shemar Turner at pick No. 142, and the board did not agree. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Cody Simon in slot 219 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
Jonah Monheim slipping to the 220th pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Somehow Ja'Quinden Jackson was still sitting there in Round 7, Pick 24, and they pounced on premier running back value. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.