Who were the Patriots’ biggest steals and reaches in the NFL Draft?

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 27: Dametrious Crownover #78 of the Texas A&M Aggies blocks during the second half against the Auburn Tigers at Kyle Field on September 27, 2025 in College Station, Texas. (Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images) | Getty Images Starting with offensive tackle Caleb Lomu in the first round, the New England Patriots made nine selections in the 2026 NFL Draft .

While there is some cautious optimism about the class as a whole, time will be the ultimate judge of the team’s success and whether or not the Patriots’ selections will prove their value relative to their draft position. That more than anything else will ultimately decide how New England’s draft class will be regarded further down the road. Naturally, that is something that can only be properly assessed in a few years’ time.

As for right now, the question of value — which oftentimes is used as the basis for post-draft analysis — can only be answered in theory. This is where the Consensus Big Board compiled by Arif Hasan of Wide Left comes in. It compiles 134 big boards to see how the draft community viewed the prospects beforehand.

Obviously, there are differences between those boards and the ones used by NFL teams simply because the latter have significantly more information available. That said, more than anything the comparison between those two spheres of scouting illustrates where differences exist and where, for one reason or another, there might be a dissonance between the public evaluation of a player and how the league views him. So, with that in mind, let’s find out how the Patriots’ 2026 draft class compares to that consensus board.