Patriots mailbag: League sources raving about 2025 NFL Draft class

It s not just the media raving about the Patriots NFL Draft haul The Patriots class has earned exceptionally high marks in post-draft grades Scouts are also high on Mike Vrabel s first draft with the Patriots I thought they did a really nice job should be able to get early contributions from a lot of them an AFC South scout revealed Joshua Farmer and Bradyn Swinson on Day were great values Related Articles Patriots release captain long-time long snapper Joe Cardona Patriots OC Josh McDaniels tweaking offense for Drake Maye veteran says Patriots release six players including modern fourth-round pick Patriots way too early -man roster projection First look at Patriots -man roster after NFL Draft UDFA signings An NFC West exec added I thought they had a very strong draft all the way through An AFC analytics executive ranked it Top across the NFL I think it s a really really solid class he disclosed They filled a lot of holes with guys I liked They didn t add one single player that I was super high on or located amazing value in a certain pick but I didn t dislike a single one of those first six picks which is more than I can say for most of teams in the league Just not -ing up puts you ahead of half the league The Patriots themselves are high on the draft as well per multiple sources finding they stayed true to their board and added players with solid character and physical traits Let s answer your questions about the state of the Patriots in the latest installment of the mailbag Cmerc How do you see the WR room shaking out It s a tricky question with a number of different factors First Stefon Diggs is a lock for the roster But will he be on the Week roster or will be start the season on the PUP list Diggs is and tore his ACL in late October Kendrick Bourne was last year tore his ACL in late October and didn t return until Week of the season Outside of Diggs I view Kyle Williams as a lock and let s include Mack Hollins and DeMario Douglas as pseudo-locks If we re assuming Diggs is ready for Week that leaves room for two more wide receivers The options include Bourne Kayshon Boutte Ja Lynn Polk Javon Baker John Jiles and UDFAs Demeer Blankumsee Efton Chism III and Jeremiah Webb Based on career achievements Bourne deserves to make the company Based on likely shown last season Boutte deserves to make the roster Based on draft status Polk and Baker deserve a spot Boutte was involved in multiple arrangement rumors last week I think that was telling so I ll take him out of the mix assuming the Patriots can get something in return between now and the summer For the record I like Boutte I don t know if he ll ever get back on the level that made him a five-star recruit and prospective first-round pick but he had a solid season last year and dramatically improved from Year I ll remove the UDFAs and Jiles as well until we see them on the practice field Chism could be the Patriots next great slot receiver or he could be off the roster in two weeks It s way too early to tell That leaves Baker Bourne and Polk I m keeping Polk He was a second-round pick and there are people within the building who believe he s best suited as a slot receiver It s not hard to imagine him taking on a Jakobi Meyers-esque role if it all clicks for him in Year So that leaves Bourne and Baker for one spot The Patriots could free up between and million in cap space by cutting or trading Bourne depending on the date That s not an insignificant amount of money Bourne only caught passes for yards in games last season Keeping Bourne will be dependent on him showing he s fully healed from s knee injury Baker was a fourth-round pick a year ago and he caught just one pass in his rookie season We re keeping Bourne as the sixth wide receiver until Baker shows us more in practice BostonPBW win loss prediction i m at - making the playoffs The Patriots win total over under is set at I ll go over but I m not ready to say wins I ll be optimistic but still somewhat conservative and say they finish - in Tack in FL Over Under rookies are starters week Which ones Are we including specialists If so I ll go over with LT Will Campbell WR Kyle Williams C Jared Wilson K Andres Borregales and LS Julian Ashby If we re not including specialists then I ll go under I think RB TreVeyon Henderson starts his career behind Rhamondre Stevenson and I m not sure if safety Craig Woodson can crack the initial starting defense I think defensive tackle Joshua Farmer has the feasible to be a starter based on Christian Barmore s healthcare I see EDGE Bradyn Swinson as a rotational member early bromes Just based on the man who would you guess is the top OL combo I ll be more concise with this projection LT Campbell LG Cole Strange C Wilson RG Mike Onwenu RT Morgan Moses I believe Wilson can win the starting job over Garrett Bradbury Left guard is tricky It comes down to Strange Layden Robinson Wes Schweitzer Sidy Sow Ben Brown Tyrese Robinson and maybe even Wilson or Caedan Wallace Ultimately I think Strange offers the preponderance upside as a first-round pick Here particular fun You see any current players that might get cut later on post June st like Tavai Here s the deal The Patriots still have around million in cap space They re in a position where they can cut guys even if it means taking on massive amounts in dead money and genuinely subtracting cap space So yeah particular of the holdovers from last year could still be on the chopping block fraga timothy Do you still think they add to the coaching staff and front office Meaning another assistant WR coach to help downing out and do more of the skill stuff Coaching staff no but front office yes