The New England Patriots are slowly creeping closer to the most important draft in the last 25 years, which is being led by a rookie coach in Jerod Mayo and a rookie GM (de facto) in Eliot Wolf.
We did this piece in 2022 and 2023, and I wanted to continue this yearly tradition as the draft gets closer.
Usually, when the New Year rolls around, I kick off my official draft prep. It’s a few months of diving deep into player tapes and rewatching full games to catch all those situational moments. I keep tabs on college football games year-round, so I’ve got a rough idea of who’s standing out. But come January, it’s time to really dig in.
I have a routine where I laser-focus on one player at a time. I want to get a solid grip on their skills before I slap a grade on them. Once I’ve gone through enough players, I jot down my top-10 for each position and lay out a top-50 list.
But I don’t stop there. I like to check out what other folks are saying, too. I’ll peek at big boards from different sources, different platforms, just to see where the consensus lies. It’s a bit of quality control for my own evaluations. It can’t hurt to make sure I’m on the right track.
Now, the big board? It’s a starting point, sure. But it only works in a vacuum.
As the draft rolls on, positional value, team needs and fit all come into play. So sometimes, player No. 10 might go first overall, and that’s simply because players 1-9 do not make sense for them to grab.
Before we jump right into the kit, here’s a little background of the grading system I use:
Grading system
My grades are changing this year, and I have switched to a more in depth, auto-calculated grading system. I use a series of formulas I have built to be able to articulate what I see and compile all attributes, which differs for each position.
For example, quarterbacks are graded off of five main categories and five attribute categories. All positions have 10 attributes, but they will change based on what the modern NFL asks the position to do. The quarterbacks are graded off of athletic ability, mental processing, competitive toughness, play strength and play speed for the main categories. Accuracy, throwing power, throwing on the run, anticipation and pocket presence.
After the grades are determined and set, the players are ranked based on the overall grade which is determined from the 10 categories and sub categories that feed into the main attributes.
To simplify it for the fan that doesn’t care about how we get there, these players are graded from 1.00-9.99, as no player is perfect and no player is completely terrible at this stage.
There are tiers of grading that categorize the level of prospect, and like I alluded to earlier, this isn’t a perfect science because things change on draft day. Teams may desire a position and choose the best at that position over a blue chip player.
A first-round grade is also different than a first-round pick. Every year, there are 32, and sometimes less thanks to tampering (I’m looking at you Dolphins), but there is not always 32 first-round grades.
Before I showcase the tiers, a quick example of what I just mentioned is how Jayden Daniels is quarterback No. 3 for me, yet is not a top-five player overall. He will still likely go in the top-five based on positional value.
Considering that this will be a top-50 big board and top-10 at each position, it is very unlikely we will see all of these tiers. However, in the future, if there is a desire for it, there could be a piece on the full draft eligible prospects.
Grading tiers/player categorization
9.50 – 9.99 – Blue Chip/Generational
9.00 – 9.49 – Top 15 Pick/Elite Prospect
8.00 – 8.99 – 1st Round Grade
7.00 – 7.99 – 2nd Round Grade
6.00 – 6.99 – 3rd Round Grade
5.00 – 5.99 – 4th Round Grade
4.00 – 4.99 – 5th Round Grade
3.00 – 3.99 – 6th Round Grade
2.00 – 2.99 – 7th Round Grade
1.00 – 1.99 – Camp Body
Top 50 big board
No. 1: Marvin Harrison Jr., WR – 9.63
No. 2: Joe Alt, OT – 9.51
No. 3: Drake Maye, QB – 9.36
No. 4: Caleb Williams, QB – 9.35
No. 5: Brock Bowers, TE – 9.27
No. 6: Malik Nabers, WR – 9.23
No. 7: Olu Fashanu, OT – 9.22
No. 8: Rome Odunze, WR – 9.15
No. 9: Jayden Daniels, QB – 9.12
No. 10: Laiatu Latu, ED – 9.08
No. 11: Jer’Zhan Newton, DL – 9.0
No. 12: Tailese Fuaga, OT – 8.93
No. 13: Dallas Turner, ED – 8.91
No. 14: Quinyon Mitchell, CB – 8.8
No. 15: Jared Verse, ED – 8.79
No. 16: Cooper DeJean, CB – 8.76
No. 17: Brian Thomas Jr., WR – 8.66
No. 18: Nate Wiggins, CB – 8.6
No. 19: Terrion Arnold, CB – 8.48
No. 20: Xavier Worthy, WR – 8.35
No. 21: Amarius Mims, OT – 8.24
No. 22: Xavier Legette, WR – 8.22
No. 23: Spencer Rattler, QB – 8.04
No. 24: Kamren Kinchens, S – 7.97
No. 25: Michael Penix Jr., QB – 7.92
No. 26: Jonathan Brooks, RB – 7.73
No. 27: Blake Corum, RB – 7.69
No. 28: Sedric Van Pran, C – 7.65
No. 29: Bucky Iriving, RB – 7.62
No. 30: Jackson Powers-Johnson, C – 7.59
No. 31: JJ McCarthy, QB – 7.57
No. 32: Ja’Tavyion Sanders, TE – 7.54
No. 33: Chop Robinson, ED – 7.5
No. 34: Bryon Murphy, DL – 7.48
No. 35: Ladd McConkey, WR – 7.44
No. 36: Cade Stover, TE – 7.41
No. 37: JC Latham, OT – 7.4
No. 38: Patrick Paul, OT – 7.39
No. 39: Tyler Guyton, OT – 7.36
No. 40: Trey Benson, RB – 7.34
No. 41: AD Mitchell, WR – 7.27
No. 42: Roman Wilson, WR – 7.25
No. 43: Cooper Beebe, G – 7.1
No. 44: Graham Barton, OT – 7.06
No. 45: Jordan Morgan, OT – 7.0
No. 46: Chris Braswell, ED – 6.9
No. 47: Bralen Trice, ED – 6.88
No. 48: Kool Aid McKinstry, CB – 6.82
No. 49: Edgerrin Cooper, LB – 6.79
No. 50 Ben Sinnott, TE – 6.7
Offensive tackle
1. Joe Alt, Notre Dame – 9.51
2. Olu Fashanu, Penn State- 9.22
3. Tailese Fuaga, Oregon State – 8.93
4. Amarius Mims, Georgia – 8.24
5. JC Latham, Alabama – 7.4
6. Patrick Paul, Houston- 7.39
7. Tyler Guyton, Oklahoma – 7.36
8. Graham Barton, Duke – 7.06
9. Jordan Morgan, Arizona – 7.0
10. Kingsley Suamataia, BYU – 6.69
Interior offensive line
1. Sedrick Van Pran, Georgia – 7.65
2. Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon – 7.59
3. Cooper Beebe, Kansas State- 7.1
4. Zach Frazier, West Virginia – 6.67
5. Chrisitan Mahoganey, Boston College – 6.5
6. Christian Haynes, UCONN – 6.2
7. Zak Zinter, Michigan – 6.0
8. Javion Cohen, Miami – 5.67
9. Drake Nugent, Michigan – 5.58
10. Beaux Limmer, Arkansas – 5.55
Tight end
1. Brock Bowers, Georgia – 9.27
2. Ja’Tavyion Sanders, Texas – 7.54
3. Cade Stover, Ohio State – 7.41
4. Ben Sinnott, Kansas State – 6.7
5. Jaheim Bell, Florida State – 6.5
6. Theo Johnson, Penn State – 5.99
7. Tip Reiman, Illinois – 5.78
8. AJ Barner, Michigan – 5.54
9. Trey Knox, South Carolina – 3.76
10. Dallin Holker, Colorado State – 3.45
Running backs
1. Jonathon Brooks, Texas – 7.73
2. Blake Corum, Michigan – 7.69
3. Bucky Irving, Oregon – 7.62
4. Trey Benson, Florida State – 7.34
5. Audric Estime, Notre Dame – 5.99
6. MarShawn Lloyd, USC – 5.89
7. Ray Davis, Kentucky – 4.77
8. Dillon Johnson, Washington – 4.75
9. Dylan Laube, UNH – 4.67
10. Will Shipley, Clemson – 4.43
Wide receivers
1. Marvin Harrison Jr, Ohio State – 9.63
2. Malik Nabers, LSU – 9.23
3. Rome Odunze, Washington – 9.15
4. Brian Thomas Jr., LSU – 8.66
5. Xavier Worthy, Texas – 8.35
6. Xavier Legette, South Carolina – 8.22
7. Ladd McConkey, Georgia – 7.44
8. AD Mitchell, Texas – 7.27
9. Roman Wilson, Michigan – 7.25
10. Jermain Burton, Alabama – 6.67
Quarterbacks
1. Drake Maye, UNC – 9.36
2. Caleb Williams, USC – 9.35
3. Jayden Daniels, LSU – 9.12
4. Spencer Rattler, South Carolina – 8.04
5. Michael Penix Jr., Washington – 7.92
6. JJ McCarthy, Michigan – 7.57
7. Jordan Travis, Florida State – 5.98
8. Bo Nix, Oregon – 5.82
9. Michael Pratt, Tulane – 3.98
10. Sam Hartman, Notre Dame – 3.95
Defensive tackles
1. Jer’Zhan Newton, Illinois – 9.0
2. Byron Murphy II, Texas – 7.48
3. Braden Fiske, Florida State – 6.69
4. T’vondre Sweat, Texas – 6.54
5. Ruke Orhorhoro, Clemson – 6.52
6. Mekhi Wingo, LSU – 6.46
7. McKinnley Jackson, Texas A&M – 6.21
8. Michael Hall Jr., Ohio State – 5.53
9. Tyler Davis, Clemson – 5.01
10. DeWayne Carter, Duke – 3.98
EDGE rushers
1. Laiatu Latu, UCLA – 9.08
2. Dallas Turner, Alabama – 8.91
3. Jared Verse, Florida State – 8.79
4. Chop Robinson, Penn State – 7.5
5. Chris Braswell, Alabama – 6.9
6. Bralen Trice, Washington – 6.88
7. Adisa Isaac, Penn State – 6.64
8. Jonah Elliss, Utah – 4.55
9. Kris Jenkins, Michigan – 4.23
10. Maason Smith, LSU – 3.78
Off-ball linebackers
1. Edgerrin Cooper, Texas A&M – 6.79
2. Jeremiah Trotter Jr., Clemson – 6.45
3. Payton Wilson, NC State – 6.42
4. Tommy Eichenberg, Ohio State – 6.32
5. Junior Colson, Michigan – 6.01
6. Marist Liufau, Notre Dame – 5.41
7. Tyrice Knight, UTEP – 5.02
8. Ty’Ron Hopper, Missouri – 3.75
9. Cedric Gray, UNC – 3.48
10. Jaylan Ford, Texas – 3.33
Safeties
1. Kamren Kinchens, Miami – 7.97
2. Tyler Nubin, Minnesota – 6.4
3. Cole Bishop, Utah – 6.38
4. Javon Bullard, Georgia – 6.22
5. Tykee Smith, Georgia – 5.78
6. Calen Bullock, USC – 4.67
7. Jaden Hicks, Washington State – 4.55
8. Beau Brade, Maryland – 4.46
9. Sione Vaki, Utah – 4.23
10. James Williams, Miami – 4.15
Cornerbacks
1. Quinyon Mitchell, Toledo – 8.8
2. Cooper DeJean, Iowa – 8.76
3. Nate Wiggins, Clemson – 8.6
4. Terrion Arnold, Alabama – 8.48
5. Kool Aid McKinstry, Alabama – 6.82
6. Mike Sainristil, Michigan – 6.45
7. Kalen King, Penn State – 6.05
8. Kamari Lassiter, Georgia – 6.03
9. Ennis Rakestraw Jr., Missouri – 4.89
10. TJ Tampa, Iowa State – 4.13
