"WhitePatriots News Opinion and Analysis Contribute! FanPostsFanShotsAbout the Site List of Patriots Twitter AccountsWrite For Pats Pulpit!New User Welcome and Commenting GuideCommunity GuidelinesMastheadTopics Patriots Off-Season CoveragePatriots Opinion/AnalysisPatriots NewsPatriots Draft CoverageSportfolio ManagementNFL DraftPatriots Opinion/AnalysisNFL Draft GradesNFL draft grades: Patriots earn high marks for their 2019 rookie classNew Womens Cyrus Jones Jersey ,13commentsRead more: Patriots fans love Chase Winovich pick; more critical of Damien Harris and late-round selectionsEDTShareTweetShareShareNFL draft grades: Patriots earn high marks for their 2019 rookie classMark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY SportsThe New England Patriots made ten selections during the 2019 NFL draft, and the immediate reaction to the haul was a mostly positive one: the team addressed its biggest needs while also being able to grab some developmental upside. But what does the Pats Pulpit staff, its readers, and the general consensus say about the additions? Glad you asked!Bernd Buchmasser: A-The Patriots entered the draft with one clear hole on their roster, especially after the retirement of Rob Gronkowski: they needed a physical boundary receiver to complement what Julian Edelman and Phillip Dorsett bring to the table. With the final selection of the first round, they addressed the need by picking Arizona State wideout N’Keal Harry — a tremendous fit for the team needed and for how its offense is constructed.Harry was not the only player to address a clear need: Chase Winovich will bring upside to the defensive edge rotation, while Yodny Cajuste and Hjalte Froholdt are quality backups/developmental players along the offensive line. All three of them present tremendous value for their respective draft positions in the third (Winovich, Cajuste) and fourth (Froholdt) rounds. It’s hard to argue against those picks.Frankly, those selections are straight A material. The selection of quarterback Jarrett Stidham a few picks after Froholdt was also solid considering the upside. And even the more hotly debated picks have plenty of merit: Joejuan Williams offers size and physicality in the defensive backfield, Damien Harris can take pressure off starting running back Sony Michel, while me.The remaining picks were all about roster churn. Fourth round quarterback Jarrett Stidham is considered to have a lot of “potential http://www.patriotslockerroom.com/authentic-tom-brady-jersey ,” but I think that just means “looks good in shorts, but is extremely inconsistent and underproduced on the field.” College production represents a player’s ceiling because quarterbacks almost never surpass their college stats in the pros. He has the exact same efficiency stats at Danny Etling. He’ll make the team as a fourth round pick, but I’m not sure if he’s much better than Etling- although he shouldn’t prevent the Patriots from actually addressing the position next year. The same could be said about fifth round punter Jake Bailey; is he any better than Ryan Allen? He does kickoffs, so maybe he’ll take that responsibility away from Stephen Gostkowski and let the aging Gostkowski focus on field goals and extra points. But neither Stidham or Bailey represent a player much better than what New England already has on the roster, so they get a C from me.And that leaves fifth round defensive lineman and two of them aren’t his fault.Strike 1 is his top end speed. He ran a 4.64 40 at the combine, although he re-ran a 4.50 40 on his pro day. If the number is closer to 4.5, he’s plenty fast enough for a 6’4” corner covering taller guys not named Randy Moss.Strike 2 is he’s a 2nd round DB drafted by Belichick and that carries a stigma he personally doesn’t deserve, but is stuck with.Strike 3 is he is perceived as being over-drafted because someone somewhere gave him a late 3rd round draft grade. The fact is every year there’s a run on DB’s. Seven DBs (5 CBs) were selected ahead of him, and 6 DB’s (3 CBs) were selected closely afterward. That’s 14 DB’s before the 64th pick. None of them have his height and size. The closest in size was Lonnie Johnson at 6’2” 213 by the Texans. The chances of Williams being available later was slim to none. In other words, perceived draft position is a bunch of hooey.Considering our difficulty handling taller players this pick is actually quite amazing. Added to that we have a number of DB’s hitting FA next year, and at least three that are long in the tooth Brandon Bolden Jersey , it makes total sense to keep filtering in quality players.Ryan Keiran: C+The Patriots got a number of solid-good players with a lot of questionable value at the spots they took them, with other positions of need on the board (trading up for a punter??). First, a positive note: Winovich was the pick of the draft, someone who was always going to be a great fit in New England and some thought might be their first round pick and they got him in the third. They also reportedly loved Williams so much they were considering him at 32 alongside Harry, and were still able to get him at 45.However, they completely passed on one of the deepest tight end classes ever the year Rob Gronkowski retires, and despite being in a perfect position to be aggressive this year their trade downs cost them players they wanted. They got sniped at TEs they were linked to three times in the third round, including a Bills trade-up to the pick before them which resulted in an immediate trade down from the Patriots pick. I like Harry, Williams, Winovich, Harris Womens Dont'a Hightower Jersey , and Cajuste a lot as day 1-2 players, but the value wasn’t there for me for a lot of them with who else was on the board.Pat Lane: B+I’m excited about some of the talent that they’re bringing in. They finally drafted a first round wide receiver, and, hopefully he’ll be able to have an impact on the offense. I’m excited about Williams as well, as he could be a good tool to have in the defensive arsenal. He’s not going to be a starting corner, but, in the right matchup, he could be a valuable piece for them.I love the Winovich pick, and also Cajuste, they could both have an impact at depth positions this season. Maybe Harris is a good back, but we just used a first round pick on a back last year http://www.patriotslockerroom.com/authentic-jonathan-jones-jersey , and we have other needs. Cowart was a highly touted prospect who never did much in college before last year, so I don’t mind taking a shot. Stidham could be fine, but took a huge step back last season. Maybe that was because of his team being so bad, but it’s not a great sign.They also traded up for a punter in the 5th. Not sure why they felt that was necessary, but I can’t imagine he makes the team. Allen isn’t getting cut, and they’re not keeping two punters, so everyone in the league will have a shot at him when the Patriots cut him. I guess they just hope no one will take him. Webster is fine, and, if he makes the team, could potentially play special teams. PatrioticChief: BPlenty of upside. Some serious risk. I’m growing more pessimistic about the Stidham pick and more optimistic about Harris. I think the Patriots took a lot of guys who are unconventional but hopefully that unconventional element leads them to being NFL successes and not NFL busts. This is the twilight of the franchise. I’m glad Belichick has decided to go out swinging instead of playing it safe. It’s been a hell of a run and we’re looking at one of the last drafts that will have significant relevance to the BB-Brady era. Fingers crossed. Pats Pulpit readersAfter the draft, we asked Pats Pulpit’s readers to grade New England’s haul. Considering that more than 10 Rex Burkhead Jersey ,000 people participated, you could say that this is a rather representative assessment:The vast majority of participants — 91% to be exact — gave the Patriots either an A or a B grade, with the As getting over 700 more total votes. Safe to say that New England’s followers liked the team’s picks.Media consensusA compilation of 18 draft grade articles was published on Twitter by René Bugner. It reads as follows:Graphic: René BugnerAs can be seen, New England is tied with Washington for the best-graded draft across the board. Thirteen of the eighteen evaluations compiled give the Patriots some variation of an A-grade, with the worst of all being a straight B. Sunday’s showdown between Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady can’t get here soon enough.The discussion regarding the game has devolved to the point where Brady was asked to respond to people calling his relationship with Rodgers a “bromance.” (Yes, someone actually asked Brady that question on Friday.)“I don鈥檛 call it that,” Brady said.So what does he call it?“Call what?” Brady said. “My relationship with him? We know each other. We鈥檙e friends.”Brady said that he hasn’t reached out to Rodgers this week, and that Brady wouldn’t give up some of his arm in exchange for Rodgers’ legs.“I鈥檇 love to move as best as I possibly can,” Brady said. “But God gave me this body and trying to use it the best I can to help us win.”That approach has worked well for Brady over most of the last 18 years. Even if it apparently hasn’t been enough to spark an official bromance with Rodgers.