The New England Patriots waited almost 80 picks between their third and fourth selections in the draft. When they were on the clock, they opted to go for a player who they had shown interest in for a while: Wake Forest cornerback Karon Prunty was selected with pick No. 171 in the fifth round.
Let’s grade the pick.
Instant grades: Patriots draft CB Karon Prunty 171st overall
Bernd Buchmasser: The Patriots did their homework on Prunty, inviting him for a 30 visit and having other points of contact throughout the pre-draft process. They also were a lot higher on him than
plenty of other people: he is ranked 512th on the consensus board. Does this make it a bad pick, though? Not necessarily because he has some tools to work with as a long, speedy defender. | Grade: C-
Pat Lane: The Patriots met with Prunty on a 30 visit, and also at his pro day. Clearly, they were higher than consensus on him. He was PFF’s 24th-rated cover corner in coverage last year, and he has good size, so maybe there is some upside here, but it sure feels like he would’ve been available later. Corner is definitely a need for the Patriots, so that’s good. I believe there were much better corners on the board, but I’m going to choose to trust that the Patriots know what they’re doing here. Let’s hope they’re right, because I feel like the grades from most people are going to be pretty low. | Grade: D
Matt St. Jean: In what was seen as a weak class, the Patriots take CB57 on Dane Brugler’s board at pick 171. Karon Prunty is an older prospect who finished his career at Wake Forest. A tall corner at 6-foot-1 who played outside, Prunty posted a great three-cone drill for his height with a 4.45 40-time. He got strong coverage grades from PFF all throughout his career (84.8 coverage grade in 2025) and drew interest from multiple NFL teams who brought him in for 30 visits, including the Patriots. Depth at outside corner is a long-term need for the team, so this fills a need. It is similar to the selection of Kobee Minor last year with the team taking a corner from well off the consensus boards, which speaks to the lack of depth in this class and the team’s willingness to trade both 4th-round picks. | Grade: C-
Andrew Guindon: The Patriots needed young and cheap cornerback depth since they will likely be near or at the top of the league in spending at the position, assuming they extend Christian Gonzalez. Prunty (6-foot-1, 190 pounds) tested well at his pro day and ran a 4.45 40-yard dash. He has a knack for creating turnovers, recording eight interceptions in college. There was an extensive list of higher-profile corners available, but the pick still fills a need. | Grade: C
The Patriots’ next draft pick is set to come at No. 191 in the sixth round. The top needs left to be addressed include linebacker and defensive tackle.
What do you think about this draft pick, though? Do you like it? Do you not? Please participate in our poll and head to the comment section to discuss.
