With Sunday afternoon's games going final, the order for the top of the first round in the 2024 NFL Draft is now set. That means the New England Patriots know where they will be picking, and it will be third overall.
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With Sunday's loss to the New York Jets, the Patriots finished the season with a 4-13 record, tied for the second-worst in the league with the Washington Commanders and Arizona Cardinals. The Commanders had the weakest strength of schedule of those three, so they get the second pick. The Cardinals had a stronger schedule than the Patriots, landing them fourth.
The first overall pick will go to the Chicago Bears, who own the 2-15 Carolina Panthers' first-round pick by way of the trade that landed the Panthers Bryce Young in a trade up to the first overall pick in 2023. The Bears will have two picks in the top 10, as their own pick will be ninth.
This year's draft will be held April 25-27 in Detroit.
Here is the full top 10:
1. Chicago Bears (via Carolina Panthers) (2-15)
2. Washington Commanders (4-13)
3. New England Patriots (4-13)
4. Arizona Cardinals (4-13)
5. Los Angeles Chargers (5-12)
6. New York Giants (6-11)
7. Tennessee Titans (6-11)
8. Atlanta Falcons (7-10)
9. Chicago Bears (7-10)
10. New York Jets (7-10)
The consensus top three players in this year's draft are USC quarterback Caleb Williams, North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye, and Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
So, in theory, the Patriots could simply take whichever one of those three fall to them. Of course, it's not necessarily that simple. They could try to trade up if they want to guarantee themselves one of the top two quarterbacks.
Even if they don't get Williams or Maye but still want a quarterback, they could target LSU's Jayden Daniels, who spent the season rocketing up draft boards as he won the Heisman Trophy. Or they could take an offensive tackle, another position of need. Notre Dame's Joe Alt and Penn State's Olu Fashanu project as the top two.
There will be plenty of time to debate all of that. Welcome to the offseason.