B+
New England Patriots
The Patriots let Hampton fall and pounced. Final grade: B+.
by WithDK ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 13 picks
· 6 steals
· 7 reaches
The Patriots did not reach, did not trade up, did not blink. They just waited, and Omarion Hampton fell into pick 105.
They will need Jones Jr. to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it. The phones were where this weekend was really won.
They punted on quarterback, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
Good work on the whole, with quarterback the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
Will Campbell at slot 8 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They talked themselves into Nic Scourton at pick No. 36, and the board did not agree. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They robbed the room for Jahdae Barron here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Tyler Warren at No. 87 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Harold Perkins Jr. at the Round 3 slot is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A minor itch, scratched.
Omarion Hampton in pick 105 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A real head-scratcher, Emery Jones Jr. in the 123rd overall pick is miles ahead of his ranking. A need, and now a little less of one.
Jared Wilson in Round 5, Pick 4 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Value said wait; Tory Horton in Round 5, Pick 30 says they were not listening. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Bryson Nesbit well ahead of where he belonged. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Jihaad Campbell at pick 220 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
They read the board right and Tonka Hemingway was the payoff at the 224th overall pick. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Barrett Carter in pick No. 241 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.