2015 NFL Draft Grades: Report Cards for All 32 GMs | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
Round 1, Pick 32 (32): Malcom Brown, Texas DT
Round 2, Pick 32 (64): Jordan Richards, Stanford SS
Round 3, Pick 33 (97) (compensatory selection): Geneo Grissom, Oklahoma DE
Round 4, Pick 2 (101) (from Buccaneers): Trey Flowers, Arkansas DE
Round 4, Pick 12 (111) (from Browns): Tre' Jackson, Florida State OG
Round 4, Pick 32 (131): Shaq Mason, Georgia Tech C
Round 5, Pick 30 (166) (from Packers): Joe Cardona, Navy LS
Round 6, Pick 2 (178) (from Buccaneers): Matthew Wells, Mississippi State LB
Round 6, Pick 26 (202) (from Browns through Ravens): A.J. Derby, Arkansas TE
Round 7, Pick 30 (247) (from Packers): Darryl Roberts, Marshall CB
Round 7, Pick 36 (253) (compensatory selection): Xzavier Dickson, Alabama OLB
OK, look: The Patriots are the Duke of the NFL. Much like Duke's recruits automatically earn anticipatory honors just for being Duke recruits, sometimes the Patriots get great draft grades because every pick is certified as being made by the Patriots and therefore automatically smart.
Malcom Brown is a legitimately great pick, especially at No. 32. The Patriots have a crying need for athleticism—not necessarily speed but athleticism—and he has it.
Richards is a little more of the former, a guy the world declares a good pick because the Patriots must know something no one else does (or because we know the Patriots coaches will use him appropriately).
Grissom is another perfect fit for the depleted Patriots front seven. He's perhaps a man without a clear position, but Bill Belichick will simply use him wherever he works best. Flowers isn't as versatile as Grissom but again meets that need for beef up front.
Back-to-back interior line picks make sense at the bottom of the fourth round. Both Jackson and Mason are mashers who can develop into more. In the sixth round, Derby, a quarterback-turned-tight-end, is the quintessential Patriots prospect.
