Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images A look at how the Patriots’ 6-0 loss to the Chargers impacts their draft position. The New England Patriots made a jump up in the 2024 NFL Draft order on Sunday. Thanks to a 6-0 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in combination with a 24-10 win by the Arizona Cardinals over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team of head coach Bill Belichick has been able to move from the third to the second position in the standings. At 2-10, the Patriots now have the second-fewest wins in the league behind only the 1-11 Carolina Panthers (whose first-round draft pick belongs to the Chicago Bears). As a consequence of that, and a strength of schedule tiebreaker starting to play in their hands, New England is now in a solid position to earn one of the two highest selections next spring. According to a recent analysis by ESPN, the Patriots have a 19 percent chance of leap-frogging the Bears (via the Panthers) and ending the year in possession of the first overall selection. The far more likely outcome is them earning pick No. 2: the odds of that happening have been calculated at around 42 percent. Looking at the remaining schedule for both them and the rest of the competitors for the top draft slots — i.e. teams that have won no more than four games so far — it can be seen that that outcome is indeed realistic: the Patriots will be playing only one team with a losing record the rest of the way, the currently-4-8 New York Jets in the season finale. The Panthers in particular appear to have an easier slate waiting on paper, with the 8-4 Jacksonville Jaguars (who just lost quarterback Trevor Lawrence to a suspected ankle sprain) as the only team above .500 and two (New Orleans, Tampa Bay) at 5-7. If we take a look at the rest of the season in terms of strength of schedule, the Patriots’ remaining five opponents have a cumulative win percentage of .517. That number compares favorably to the Panthers’ .500, but no so much the Cardinals’ .604. If New England wants to enter the draft in possession of a top-two selection, the team therefore likely cannot afford more than one win down the stretch. Source: https://www.patspulpit.com/2023/12/5/23 ... -cardinals
