New England Patriots receive high draft grade from Mel Kiper

Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN recently graded the draft class for all 32 teams. How did the New England Patriots do in his grades?

It was a rather quiet 2017 NFL Draft for the New England Patriots, but it turned out to be a good one.

Coming into the offseason, the Patriots pretty much had their full arsenal of picks. However, big trades resulted in them losing some of the picks in order to acquire proven veterans.

With their first round pick, the Patriots acquired Brandin Cooks from the New Orleans Saints. Even though this was considered to be a deep class, Cooks will have a much larger impact on the team than any player the Patriots could have drafted at No.32

Mel Kiper of ESPN recently graded the draft classes for all 32 teams. For the Patriots, they received a grade of an A from Kiper. Here are some of the things he had to say about their draft class.

"The reason the Patriots’ grade is so high with no first- or second-round picks? You have to remember that Brandin Cooks and Kony Ealy are essentially those picks, and New England knows exactly what it’s getting in bothNow, on to what New England got this weekend, including two guys who were higher on my board than where the Patriots picked, and at need positions. Derek Rivers is a workout freak and ferocious pass-rusher who had 41 career sacks at Youngstown State. He would have been a contributor if he had played at Ohio State.Antonio Garcia required giving up their fourth-round pick in a trade up 11 spots, but he’s a natural left tackle who started 42 collegiate games. He was my fifth-ranked tackle. If he’s the Patriots’ swing tackle backing up both Nate Solder and Marcus Cannon, that’s an improvement. Deatrich Wise Jr., a versatile edge defender, continues the Patriots’ Arkansas pipeline."

For the short-term, the Patriots are certainly winners in the NFL Draft. Cooks should be able to be a Pro Bowl player in New England with Tom Brady throwing him the ball. In addition to Cooks on offense, Dwayne Allen will also be in a position to succeed.

Next: 5 reasons Patriots can repeat as Super Bowl champs

Even though they only drafted four players, those players appear to be pretty good picks as of now. Time will tell if the Patriots made the right decisions in this draft. However, they will be the favorite to win Super Bowl 52 heading into the season.