After spending the most money in free agency last offseason by a mile, the Patriots chose to stockpile draft picks in 2026 to address their roster holes further. It completely fits the approach Mike Vrabel wants to take with the team, and they have a good opportunity to accomplish that with this year's class.
Although they're selecting much later in the first round than they have in recent years, their biggest needs are at deep positions, which certainly works in their favor.
But there is an issue that some analysts, like NESN's Evan Cormier, believe they're inevitably going to run into that will decide to compile 11 picks in this year's draft look like a giant mistake: most experts have deemed the incoming class of prospects as one of the weakest in recent history.
That has Cormier and others suggesting the Patriots have too many selections, especially since they only have three picks in the top 100, and this year's group just doesn't make those picks valuable.
But is that the right assertion?
The Patriots' draft stockpile opens a lot of doors to make some big roster decisions
While it's fair to say the rookie class this year is a bit underwhelming compared to others, the Patriots are likely not looking at them that way after having a season led by their 2025 draft picks.
Not only did they appear to hit the jackpot with their group of rookies, but they had 11 of them on the team at the end of the season, most of whom were not household names or expected to be as successful as they were in Year 1.
That makes it easy to believe they could replicate that with this year's selections, or at the very least not feel deterred from the universal lack of excitement from so many in NFL circles.
If they do feel they have too many selections, however, that only allows them to make trades to give away some of those picks. Perhaps that means they'll finally get the WR1 they've been looking for, or maybe even their next pass-rushing superstar.
Maybe better yet, they could use some of their later picks to trade up and get one of the more well-known prospects rather than wait to see who falls to them.
Regardless, they have options, and although some might believe they have too many picks, that only means they can consider what the best moves are and how to utilize that stockpile to the best of their ability.