The real work happened on the phones. The Patriots fleeced their trade partners, turning their picks into a noticeably bigger pile than they started with.

Getting Berger where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class. It is not that Stover is a bad player; it is that the Patriots had louder needs to answer first. Leaving edge rusher unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.

Bottom line, more hits than misses and a roster nudged the right way.