Patriots Draft IRL

The mockery is over!

Let the mockery begin!

The New England Patriots have made their selections in the 2025 NFL Draft. So, how are we feeling, Patriots Nation?

Let's break it down…

The Pats did the smart thing at #4, selecting OT Will Campbell and his tiny, T-Rex arms. (Yes, I'm being sarcastic.) With Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter off the board, the Campbell pick was, as a local scribe might describe it, the needful thing. (IYKYK.) Campbell was a dominant force playing in the SEC and is the consensus best offensive lineman in the draft, and the Patriots offensive line was a clown car in 2024. As no brainers go, this pick is the no brainiest.

Taking RB TreVeyon Henderson at #38 was a bit of a surprise but I'm finding it easy to talk myself into Henderson as a wicked fast James White. 

I expect there will be a fair amount of chattering from the local pigskin pundits and bobbleheads about (a) taking a running back this high with so many other needs, like (b) some of the other options that were available here (WR Luther Burden III, DT T.J. Sanders, TE Mason Taylor) but then again, we're only at pick #38! Of course there are a lot of options here.

At #69, New England selected WR Kyle Williams. Williams was a late riser and a "Top 30" visit with the Patriots, but he wasn't one of my favorites at WR. (Big deal, so what? Yeah, of course. I'm an idiot. I'm just trying to be transparent here.) Jaylin Noel might've been my pick (taken by the Texans at #79). Williams was highly productive at Washington State in 2024 (14 TDs!) and he is wicked fast. I'm intrigued by the potential for Williams to bring a Tyreek Hill-like element to the Patriots offense. Don't like that comp? Okay. Deion Branch?

After sticking and picking for their first three selections, New England started making some moves for additional picks, moving down in Round 3 for OC Jared Wilson at #95. Garrett Bradbury was never the long-term answer at center, but apparently, neither was Cole Strange. Wilson was arguably the best center in the draft (and may be able to play a little guard, given his athleticism). Never a bad thing to have "SEC" and "Georgia" on your curriculum vitae.

Weren't the Patriots done reaching for a safety when Bill Belichick left? Apparently not. New England took S Craig Woodson at #106. Look, maybe Woodson turns out to be Rodney Harrison 2.0 and maybe that's what Vrabel sees, but…

There were a number of prospects I think would've made a little more sense to me, like WR Dont'e Thornton Jr. (108), LB Danny Stutsman (112),

DL C.J. West (113), S Latham Ransom (122), Edge Kyle Kennard (125), OT Jalen Travis (127). To name a few.

Full Disclosure: If you read my mock draft diary, you know that Stutsman, Ransom, Kennard, and Travis were frequent fliers in my mocks, and Thornton and West made occasional appearances, so, I might not be unbiased in this opinion.

The Patriots trade up (sending #144 and #238 to Seattle) to take DL Joshua Farmer with pick #137. That's more like it! Farmer was a "Top 30" visit and fits the speed/athletic profile New England has been drafting. He sounds like he could line up anywhere from NT to DE. Fast for a man of his size with good athleticism. 

Quick Aside: Alas, the Patriots could've taken my mock favorite freak of nature in Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins (who went to Minnesota just two picks later). Alas! What could have been! 

With pick #146, New England selects Edge Bradyn Swinson. I'm wishcasting a little bit of a Willie McGinest vibe with Swinson (6' 4", 255 lbs.). Good athlete who produced 8.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. Another Pats pick from the SEC.

The Patriots traded down from #171 (where the Lions took OL Miles Frazier) for #181 and #228. With the 6th round pick New England took K Andres Borregales, arguably the best kicker in this year’s draft. That being said, this pick is bound to be controversial, given the Pats many needs, however, I'm not exactly overwhelmed by the names being called immediately after the Borregales pick (with the exception of RB Devin Neal, but I wouldn’t double up at running back, either). I have to believe Vrabel & Co. really wanted this kid and knew he wouldn’t still be on the board at #220.  

Hey, they still call it football.

If you've been asking the question, if Armand Membou (taken at #7 by the Jets) is so good, why wasn't he playing left tackle for the Missouri Tigers? The Patriots gave you the answer at #220, taking OT Marcus Bryant. Bryant may not be the athletic freak that Membou is, but he's not too bad himself (8.96 RAS). He's taller (6' 7") and clocked a 4.97 40-yard dash at 330 lbs. (I'm not a physicist but I'm guessing 330 pounds traveling that fast would do some serious damage.) Oh, and Bryant has 34 5/8" arms. 

Things were going so well and then the Patriots decide to draft a long snapper, Julian Ashby, at #251. What's that you say? He's one of the two best long snappers in college football? There's an actual award for that? Well, okay then. It would seem that Vrabel & Co., with the Borregales and Ashby picks, want to put the kicking game on automatic. All right. I'm good with that.

With their final pick, at #257 the Patriots selected CB Kobee Minor. Welcome to the land of footnotes, Kobee.

And that's that. 

On the whole, a lot to like. And really, would it be Patriots draft without an early round, WTF pick of a safety nobody heard of? It would not.