Grading all 8 picks Patriots made in 2024 NFL Draft
Patriots continue adding more offensive players in the mid-rounds
The Pats had five picks to try to bail out from that Day Two debacle, including two important ones in the fourth round. With pick No. 103 in that round, the Patriots selected a guard, Layden Robinson from Texas A&M. Wolf continued the head-scratching drafting as he loaded on positions that are relatively well-stocked, at least with bodies, if not talent.
Robinson is an odd selection. A guard is just a guard, an NFL commodity. The team's greater needs lie elsewhere at left tackle, tight end, and later, even an X wide receiver. This pick now connotes a trend and not a good one. This draft should have centered on top quality at positions of need only.
Grade: C+
With their second pick at No. 110 in the fourth round, the Patriots selected another wide receiver, Javon Baker, from UCF (Central Florida). Baker is another solid, good-sized at 6'1" tall and 202 pounds, slower receiver, having run a 4.54 forty-yard dash.
Those stats are eerily similar to Ja'Lynn Polk's, taken in the second round.
When you still desperately need an offensive left tackle and a young tight end to complement older veterans on the roster, another wide receiver (unless they consider Baker an X receiver) should have been lower on the list of priorities.
Baker has nice potential and is highly regarded by some, and adding another receiver in this draft is fine. But in the fourth round, with no left tackle around, the Patriots' priority should have been there. The grade in round four is C+.