Football Outsiders looked at the draft report cards of 11 draft writers and analysts and compiled composite scores for each NFL team. Here’s how the Pats did:
New England Patriots
GPA: 2.76 (17th overall)
Standard Deviation: 0.955
Highest Grade: A+ (Brown)
Lowest Grade: D (Caplan)
Comments: Acquiring first- and second-round picks in 2012 was enough for Brown to overlook New England passing on its most pressing need in this year’s draft. Caplan (D) and Byrne (C-) were less forgiving.
The Patriots had the third highest deviation between their collective scores which shouldn’t be all that surprising. Just consider that line between people who think you should draft your needs in order of your picks, and people who think you should take the best player available at slot regardless of need.