Jaguars' Top Competition For No. 1 Pick Has Become Clear

The New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders look like the clear competition for the Jacksonville Jaguars when it comes to the No. 1 pick.

Oct 23, 2022; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll looks on from the field before a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

When it comes to the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars have some clear competition.

Through the first 12 weeks of the 2024 season, there is a three-way tie for the league's worst record at 2-9: the Jaguars, the New York Giants and the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Jaguars obviously entered the season with higher expectations than either of their 2-9 counterparts. But regardless of how or why the Jaguars got to where they are, they are now joined at the hip with the NFL's other two biggest losers.

There are still six games left in the season that will ultimately dictate the exact order of the top of the 2025 draft. But for now, it appears obvious the No. 1 pick will come to one of these three teams.

There are a handful of other teams sitting at 3-8 who belong in the conversation, but the manner to which the Jaguars, Raiders and Giants have gotten to 2-9 makes it seem like a foregone conclusion that one of these teams will be the worst in the NFL.

For the Raiders, they are a team without an answer at quarterback and an inability to stop the bleeding when it comes to Sunday afternoons. They are in the first year of a new regime, so they could run it back with the same crew in 2025. And if they do so, they will likely be looking to draft the top quarterback, which will most likely be Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward.

The Giants are another team with no answer at quarterback in the short- or long-term. They released former first-round pick Daniel Jones before Week 12 kicked off, and backup quarterback Tommy DeVito is more of a social media gag than he is a sensible option at the position.

The Jaguars, meanwhile, have their quarterback. They also currently would have the No. 1 pick if the draft was today. The Jaguars could realistically be in the driver's seat to land Travis Hunter, especially if the Raiders and Giants both pick quarterbacks.

If either franchise thinks they can find their 2025 starter elsewhere, though, then the Jaguars could have some serious competition in the Hunters sweepstakes.

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