Patriots
The Patriots need the Panthers to start winning games if it wants a shot at the No. 1 pick.
If there’s one silver lining that can be drawn out of the worst season in Foxborough in decades, it’s that the Patriots could be on the cusp of securing a franchise-altering player in the 2024 NFL Draft.
With New England mired in the cellar of the AFC standings for most of the season, the Patriots have regularly been mentioned as a legitimate candidate for a top-five pick in the league’s upcoming draft.
But could New England’s continued slide put them in a spot to select the No. 1 overall pick?
According to ESPN’s Seth Walder, the Patriots now have a 19.4% chance of securing the first overall pick following their latest loss to the Chargers on Sunday afternoon — with New England’s projected draft spot currently standing at 2.7.
Walder added that the Patriots currently hold a 60% chance of earning a top-two pick.
New England’s current five-game losing streak has played into their increased odds of selecting a blue-chip quarterback like USC’s Caleb Williams or UNC’s Drake Maye. But the Patriots have also received some help along the way.
The Patriots moved up on the draft leaderboard to No. 2 this week after their loss to Los Angeles and the Cardinals’ upset win over the Steelers — sans starting quarterback Kenny Pickett.
The Bears, who currently hold the rights to the Panthers’ first-round pick, currently own the No. 1 overall selection.
Carolina is 1-11 and has a 75.9% chance of landing the top pick — giving Chicago first dibs at another QB like Williams or Maye, or a potential No. 1 wide receiver like Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr.
Along with continuing to lose games themselves, the Patriots need the Panthers to win at least one more game in order to have identical records. If the Patriots and Panthers hold the same record at the end of the season, the tiebreaker will be the strength of schedule — with the team with the weaker strength of schedule getting the higher draft pick.
According to Tankathon, the Panthers (.525) hold the slight edge over the Patriots (.527) in strength of schedule — although those numbers can fluctuate with each new week of NFL action.
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