How Patriots’ win over Broncos impacts their first-round draft pick in 2024

The Patriots celebrated a 26-23 victory on Sunday night.

• By
  
  Bernd Buchmasser
  
• on December 24, 2023 11:40 pm

The New England Patriots’ 26-23 victory over the Denver Broncos on Christmas Eve came at a cost. With the team now improving to 4-11 on the year, its standing in the 2024 NFL Draft order has taken a hit.

After originally entering the weekend in the second overall spot in the standings behind only the Carolina Panthers (whose selection was traded to the Chicago Bears last offseason), the Patriots have now dropped down to No. 4. The Arizona Cardinals and Washington Commanders, who both lost their respective games on Sunday, were able to jump ahead.

As a consequence, the top of the draft table now looks as follows:

With only two weeks left in the regular season, the Bears are the heavy favorites to end up with the No. 1 overall selection. The spots behind them are still very much in play for the Patriots and their closest rivals alike, meanwhile.

However, New England now will need some help from the Cardinals and Commanders in particular if it wants to return to the second overall pick it had held before Week 16. Considering those two teams’ opponents over the last two weeks, however, that seems like a long-shot: Arizona will play Philadelphia and Seattle, with Washington going up against San Francisco and Dallas.

For comparison, the Patriots will close out the season on the road against the Buffalo Bills and at home versus the New York Jets — two teams they have already beaten this season. Their road to a top-2 selection and one of the top quarterback prospects became a more difficult one to travel on Sunday night.

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