Patriots owner Robert Kraft has been openly critical of his team's NFL draft results in the past, but he believes Bill Belichick and company knocked this year's draft out of the park.
Kraft raved about New England's latest draft haul Thursday during an appearance on NFL Network's "Good Morning Football."
"I was thinking, draft day, at the end of draft day, my eldest son Jonathan and I were chatting and I said, 'This was a great, great draft. I'm really optimistic about the team,' " Kraft said, as transcribed by MassLive.com. "And he said, 'Dad, you do that every year. You say that every year.' But I really believe it. We were able to get the top seven picks that we had identified before the draft. I think it gives us a good balance of what our needs are."
The Patriots were widely applauded for their first-round pick after landing cornerback Christian Gonzalez -- viewed as a likely top-10 prospect -- at No. 17 overall. Second-round pick Keion White was a player New England reportedly considered taking in Round 1, and it was able to grab him at No. 46 instead. Rounding out those top seven picks Kraft mentioned were linebacker/safety Marte Mapu (third round), center/guard Jake Andrews (fourth), kicker Chad Ryland (fourth), guard/tackle Sidy Sow (fourth) and guard Atonio Mafi (fifth).
The Patriots closed out the draft by taking wide receivers Kayshon Boutte and Demario Douglas, punter Bryce Baringer and cornerback Ameer Speed in the sixth round and cornerback/kick returner Isaiah Bolden in the seventh.
Reviews of this draft class as a whole were not all positive, however. The Patriots were criticized for ignoring perceived needs at tight end and offensive tackle, loading up on interior offensive linemen, not drafting a wideout until Round 6 and placing a heavy emphasis on special teams.
Kraft, though, said he's a fan of this rookie class and of the Patriots' overall offseason approach. Two months after sending a clear message that he expects New England to win playoff games this season, he struck an optimistic tone when discussing the team's 2023 chances.
"I think our free agent pickups and getting (offensive coordinator) Bill O'Brien in will make a big difference," Kraft said, "and I'm very hopeful for the team."
