New England Patriots: Day 3 draft selections make the grade

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New England Patriots wide receiver Tre Nixon . Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /

All the late picks are in, the Final Grade

The New England Patriots started the draft with a flourish selecting at No. 15 a young quarterback, Mac Jones, who fits their system to a T without a trade-up. That’s a home run pick.

And it was graded as such. Big time A. Only a lack of running ability kept this from an A+.

Day 2, the Patriots went for a big trade-up to land a legitimate top defensive tackle, Christian Barmore. He may be their best defensive tackle since Vince Wilfork. He can flat-out play.

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But, the Patriots’ history of drafting that position, well, is not good. Hope it works out. We’ll see.

Then, in the third round, they took Ronnie Perkins, an edge player who also was highly rated. No problem with the players, just the positions. They had more needs pressing elsewhere.

Those moves were qualified demerits. Then, in the fourth round, they hit paydirt again, as with Jones. Rhamondre Stevenson is just a great pick.

He’s a bull rusher and they needed a short yardage back. Desperately. He’s maybe the best situational pick for 2021 they have taken. Ultimately, it may be Jones. But for now, it’s Stevenson.

In the fifth and sixth rounds, the Patriots reverted to form and while perhaps selecting the proverbial “best player available”, they failed to tie up the positions that needed attention most.

That would be the offensive line. They needed to draft an offensive tackle high up and a big guard in the middle rounds. They didn’t. That’s a major demerit to the grade here.

In the sixth round on their second pick, the Patriots finally chose an offensive tackle, William Sherman, OT, Colorado who played a sum total of two games for Colorado.

So, he doesn’t seem to be a Michael Onwenu type. Yet, who knows. But, don’t bet the farm on his being anything but an early release. So there, again, no gain.

The Patriots’ final pick is Tre Nixon a wide receiver from UCF. Here’s what Nfl.com says about Nixon,

"Overview Dangerous three-level talent with speed and short-area athleticism to play inside or outside as a pro. Nixon had impressive flashes over his first two seasons at UCF before playing in just four games this past year due to a shoulder injury. His play strength and hands are both in need of work in order for him to be considered a trustworthy option for play callers and quarterbacks. He has the juice to win foot races deep and displays enough route-running potential to uncover against pro coverage on the first and second levels. Nixon offers intriguing value as a potential Day 3 selection with WR3 talent."

Fine, that’s it, so here’s the summation,

And the final Patriots grade is …

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