NFL Draft Order: How Patriots Move Back Into Top 3

The New England Patriots are projected to pick fourth in the upcoming NFL Draft, but they could move higher depending on other league results.

Jeremy Brener | Dec 30, 2023

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New England Patriots

The New England Patriots' win last week gave their fans a Christmas present, but it may have shaken up the future of the franchise.

The win against the Denver Broncos gave the Pats their fourth win of the season, which tied them with the Washington Commanders, who have lost all six of their games since beating the Patriots back in November.

The Pats' strength of schedule increased to .522 over the past week, and the Commanders moved up to .518, giving Washington the inside track for the No. 3 overall pick.

Having a top three pick is crucial for the upcoming draft because that would give the Pats the option to choose between two quarterbacks with the No. 3 pick, likely between North Carolina's Drake Maye and LSU's Jayden Daniels. The Commanders have a high likelihood of also taking a quarterback, so picking ahead of them could allow the Pats to beat them to the punch.

Washington is projected to lose its final two games, having to play the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys, two NFC Super Bowl contenders. But New England can flip back up into the top three. Here's how ...

1) Patriots need to lose both of their final games. One more loss wouldn't guarantee a pick outside of the top three, but it would make things far more difficult.

2) The strength of schedule tiebreaker would need to flip back to the Patriots' favor, but with only a .004 difference, it's entirely possible.

The logos represent the teams that the Patriots should be rooting for to help weaken their strength of schedule.

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The Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons have two stars by their logo because the Pats played both the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New Orleans Saints, while the Commanders didn't. If both of those teams were to lose, then the Patriots' strength of schedule will weaken.

There's a lot of intricate math involved, but two Pats losses while the Saints and Steelers also lose helps New England climb up the draft board.

Published Dec 30, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.