NFL Draft Order Update: Panthers Clinch Top Pick, Patriots No. 2?

The top overall pick has been settled, but the New England Patriots still have plenty to fight for when it comes to positioning in next April's NFL Draft.

Sunday's early slate of NFL games has settled quite a lot of important races across the league. 

The Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers have clinched the top seeds in their respective conferences, but what's more important for struggling teams like the New England Patriots is the effect the early games had on the 2024 NFL Draft order.

There's both good and bad news for New England after this set of games. The bad news is that the Chicago Bears locked up the first overall pick thanks to the Carolina Panthers, whose first-round pick they own, falling to 2-14 on the season with a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

Teams picking near the top of the 2024 NFL Draft

It remains to be seen whether the Bears will hold onto the pick or trade it like they did in the previous draft, but what is known is that the Patriots won't have that pick.

Now for the good news for New England fans. The Arizona Cardinals upset the Philadelphia Eagles to improve to 4-12 on the season, putting them in a three-way tie with the Patriots and the Washington Commanders for the second-worst record in the league. Suddenly, the race for the second overall pick got a lot more interesting with just one more week to go.

As of Sunday afternoon, the Patriots and Commanders have an identical strength of schedule with a .515 opponent win percentage. According to Tankathon, Washington is still ahead of New England due to a secondary tiebreaker, but the two will most likely go back and forth as the day progresses. Meanwhile, Arizona holds the fourth pick due to a much tougher strength of schedule at .567.

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For the Patriots, getting that second pick after it seemed to be out of reach would be huge. If they can pull it off, then they'd ensure themselves one of USC's Caleb Williams or North Carolina's Drake Maye, whichever the Bears don't pick. They could also go off the board with someone like LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, but those two have been the top two for a while now so it's somewhat difficult to see that happening.

Either way, the end of the Patriots' season is shaping up to be much more exciting than previously thought.

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