NFL Draft: Patriots Rooting Guide To 'Win' No. 2 Pick

The right combination of results in Week 18 would lock up the second overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft for the New England Patriots.

The moment New England Patriots fans have been anticipating for a while now is almost here: the end of the 2023 NFL season.

It's no secret that this season has been one to forget in Foxboro. At 4-12, the Patriots are set to post their worst record in decades, and big changes seem inevitable.

However, there is a silver lining to such a miserable season, and it comes in the form of a high draft pick. 

The Patriots could pick anywhere from No. 2 to No. 7 depending on how Week 18 plays out, but a loss to the New York Jets on Sunday assures them a top-three selection. After that, they'll have to turn to the rest of the league for help getting the second pick.

Currently, the Patriots are tied with the Washington Commanders and Arizona Cardinals for the second-worst record in the league. The Commanders hold a slight edge in the strength of schedule tiebreaker over the Patriots (.515 vs. .518), but that could very easily change in the final week. Meanwhile, the Cardinals are guaranteed to pick third among that trio with a strength of schedule of .562.

Should both New England and Washington both lose in Week 18 to finish at 4-13, there are five games that will decide which one will get the second overall pick. Those games are as follows:

• Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens (Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET)
• Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts (Saturday, 8:15 p.m. ET)
• Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)
• Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET)
• Denver Broncos at Las Vegas Raiders (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET)

Of those five games, the most important one for draft positioning is Falcons-Saints. New England has only played New Orleans while Washington has only played Atlanta, so a Falcons win would do wonders for the Patriots' odds of landing the second pick.

As for the other games, the Patriots should be rooting for the Ravens, Texans, Bears and Broncos to win. 

New England has played Pittsburgh and Indianapolis while Washington has not, so those two teams losing would lower the Patriots' strength of schedule. On the other hand, Washington has played Chicago while New England has not, so a Bears win to boost the Commanders' strength of schedule is ideal. While both teams have played Denver, only New England has played Las Vegas, and thus a Broncos win would be more beneficial for the Patriots.

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

If the Patriots were to beat the Jets, though, it could hurt their draft status substantially. Not only would they fall behind the Commanders and Cardinals, but likely the New York Giants as well due to tiebreakers. So while it would be nice to end a miserable season on a high note, it would likely be a bittersweet victory.

For a team nowhere near the playoffs, the Patriots are having a much more exciting end to the season than many would expect.

---