“New England once again took a surgical, long-range approach to the draft, getting some good talent, but also positioning itself for a haul in 2011,” Kiper wrote back in April (Insider content). “You have to factor that into the analysis. But the Pats did make some picks I liked this year, as well.”

Now, he gives them an A-plus.

“It’s one thing for so many picks to see the field, it’s another when so many are immediate starters. So while there were a few value question marks, the Patriots were brilliant in terms of identifying fits,” Kiper writes.