Just when New England Patriots fans thought their team's 2024 NFL season couldn't get any worse, the franchise blew a golden opportunity to own the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft by beating the Buffalo Bills 23-16 in Sunday afternoon's Week 18 game at Gillette Stadium.
The Patriots came into the regular season finale with a 3-13 record and needing a loss to clinch the No. 1 pick. But as a result of their victory over the Bills, combined with losses by the Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans and New York Giants, the Patriots have slid all the way down to the No. 4 overall pick in the upcoming draft. The Tennessee Titans will have the No. 1 pick.
The Patriots likely will be one of several teams to finish with a 4-13 record, but they own the tiebreaker for the better pick because of their worse strength of schedule rating.
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New England will select in the top four in back-to-back years for the first time since 1993 (Drew Bledsoe, No. 1) and 1994 (Willie McGinest, No. 4).
Here's the full top 10 of the draft order after the early afternoon window Sunday.
In a 2025 draft class where only two quarterbacks -- Colorado's Shedeur Sanders and Miami's Cam Ward -- are expected to be taken in the first round (Nos. 1 and 2 overall), falling out of the top two is a significant setback for the Patriots. If the Patriots had one of the top-two picks, they could have traded down for multiple assets and still taken a good player later in the first round.
Now it's fair to wonder if the Patriots will just keep their first-round pick.
They don't need a quarterback in Round 1 because rookie Drake Maye played so well this season. Maye looks like the real deal, so the upcoming draft is all about building a better offense around him.
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Wide receiver and left tackle are the top roster needs for the Patriots entering this draft. If the Patriots are able to select one of Colorado wideout/cornerback Travis Hunter, Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, LSU tackle Will Campbell or Texas tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., that would be a good outcome in the first round.
Edge rusher is another roster weakness for the Patriots, which makes Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter an intriguing option with the No. 4 pick if he's still available at that point.
The 2025 offseason will be one of the most pivotal time periods in Patriots history. There are many key positions on both sides of the ball that need major upgrades. They will have the most salary cap space of any team in free agency in March, as well as the No. 4 pick in April's draft.
That's not a bad situation to be in, but it's not as promising as having the No. 1 pick would have been.