Round 7, Pick 251 - Julian Ashby, LS, Vanderbilt
Top remaining player: Luke Lachey, TE, Iowa
With the team’s second seventh-round pick, the Patriots selected LS Julian Ashby from Vanderbilt. Per Mike Garafolo from NFL Network, if Ashby had gone undrafted, there would have been plenty of competition for his services. While the Pats probably got the best player at his position, they could have taken a player with more upside this late in the draft.
One of these players is TE Luke Lachey from Iowa. Lachey played in 12 games with 11 starts for the Hawkeyes last season and had 28 receptions for 231 yards.
Round 7, Pick 257 - Kobee Minor, CB, Memphis
Top remaining player available: Seth McLaughlin, C, Ohio State
With the last pick in the 2025 draft, the Patriots selected Kobee Minor, who spent last season with Memphis. Last season, Minor played in 11 games and had 38 tackles, 2 sacks, 6 passes defended, and 2 forced fumbles. In 2023, while at Indiana, Minor was an honorable mention for All-Big Ten after registering 29 tackles and 4 passes defensed.
If the Patriots chose to go another route, one of the best remaining players was former Ohio State Center, Seth McLaughlin. After spending his first four years at Alabama, McLaughlin transferred to Ohio State, where he started 10 games and won the Rimington Trophy (nation's best center) and was named second-team All-American and first-team All-Big Ten.
All things considered, if I were to grade the Patriots’ 2025 Draft, I’d probably give it an A-. There were a couple of missed opportunities in later rounds, but all in all, the Patriots had a plan and stuck to it.