Start where it matters. The Patriots took J.J. McCarthy to run the offense for the next decade, and every other decision this weekend bends around that one. A mixed bag that lands at C+.

However the rest shakes out, Hardy at that price is a win they earned. The McCarthy reach is the anchor dragging on the value grade. They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down.

They will regret leaving interior defensive lineman for another day if the season turns on it.

In the end, a coin-flip class: fine today, with a wide range of outcomes ahead.