A-
New England Patriots
A masterclass at the trade table lands the Patriots a A-.
by Jasonmroll14 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 16 picks
· 7 steals
· 5 reaches
The Jalen Rivers pick is the one that will follow the Patriots into the fall. They took him 104 spots ahead of his grade, and the board is not shy about saying so.
That is a running back worth more than the slot they spent on him, plainly. They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast.
If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through quarterback.
Add it up and few war rooms did better this weekend, Jack Sawyer and all.
Pick-by-Pick
Jack Sawyer in the Round 2 slot is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Isaiah Bond at the 49th pick is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A market-rate tight end, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Tyler Warren. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Nothing to complain about; Jake Majors went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They barely believed it either: Jason Marshall Jr. still on the board at slot 86. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
They robbed the room for TreVeyon Henderson here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They will replay Jay Higgins at the 112th pick for years; that is how good the value is. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Mykel Williams at pick 113 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Nazir Stackhouse this early at No. 130. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Steal is underselling it; Keon Sabb at the Round 5 slot is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Danny Stutsman at pick No. 152 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
No edge and no loss on Donovan Jackson in Round 5, Pick 31; it is a wash and a sensible one. A need, and now a little less of one.
Jalen Rivers at slot 218 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It fills a real need, too.
Oscar Delp in the 220th overall pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Ollie Gordon II in pick 236 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. The roster fit checks out.
Germie Bernard at the 256th pick is a conviction pick that outran the value. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.